The 2 Reasons Why People Relapse In the First Year of Recovery

Matt Serel • January 22, 2022

The 2 Reasons Why People Relapse In the First Year of Recovery

As someone with 8 years of recovery under my belt, I’ve been so fortunate to see hundreds if not thousands of people recover from addiction. Like everything else in life, recovering from addiction is rarely ever perfect, and although the trend line is generally up and to the right, there are always at the very least emotional bumps, if not relapse, along the way. 


I thought it might be helpful for others in the beginning or middle of their recovery journey to reflect on the two main reasons I’ve seen that people relapse early in recovery. I’d also love for you to share with me other reasons that I’ve missed so I can add them! 


First, I thought it would be helpful to outline what I’ve seen as the two types of relapse and outcomes of each:


  1. Slip - Someone relapses for a day, or a short period of time and immediately resumes recovery. Generally, relapses stop after a slip because the consequences of restarting the addiction are immediate, and/or they are enrolled in a program like You Are Accountable, where the individual's support team is notified immediately to intervene in the situation. Generally, this is a good learning experience for the individual and helps them gain insight into their addiction that they may have been lacking. If the individual is able to resume recovery on their own, and this is an isolated incident, a higher level of care may not be necessary, but additional support, such as increased monitoring or therapy, is generally a good idea. Either way, always consult with your clinical team.   
  2.  Run - This is a longer relapse, or multiple short recurring relapses. Many times the relapse goes undetected for a  period of time (we are sneaky), and the individual very quickly picks up their addiction right where it left off before they started on their recovery journey. Generally, after a run, a higher level of care is prudent and should be discussed with the individual’s clinical team. 


What I’ve never seen in the last 8 years is someone who has gotten sober, realized it was a “mistake”, and went on drinking or using drugs with impunity into the future. I’m sure this individual exists somewhere, but I haven’t met them yet. 


Consequences of a Relapse (Free Naloxone Prescription Below) 


The consequences of any relapse run the gamut from causing a little damage in your personal life, to death. I’ve personally had far too many friends in recovery die, and encourage everyone who is in recovery or loves someone in recovery to pick up Naloxone (Narcan), the opioid reversal drug. If the state where you are requires a prescription for Naloxone, you can get your free prescription here: https://hightruths.com/free-naloxone-prescription/


Here are the two main reasons I’ve seen people relapse in their first year of recovery:


  1. “I Got This” 


You’re doing amazing! You feel good! Your life is getting better and you’re starting to get the gifts of recovery!  Maybe you’ve been sober for 90 days, 6 month, or even a year! You’re in therapy, you’re going to meetings, maybe you’re even involved in You Are Accountable. You start to feel like all the recovery activities in your life are overkill. So you decide to start cutting them out, because you feel good and life has gotten busy! 


Every time I have this conversation with someone, I try to remind them that they feel good BECAUSE they have been doing all these things to work on their recovery, not in spite of them. I encourage individuals that feel this way to not stop, but DOUBLE DOWN, on the things that have gotten them to where they are today especially if they are in the first 18 months of recovery. 


   2. Life isn’t getting any better. 


Recovery is freaking hard. Literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done personally. Generally, by the time someone seeks recovery their life has gotten so out of control that it is quite literally the last option. 


As an addict, I’m used to being in control of “feeling better”. I can “choose” to take a pill/drink/substance, and feel better in a matter of minutes. 


Unfortunately, once you get sober, and you’re faced with all the wreckage of your past that has built up over year(s), there is no quick fix. 


Relationships aren’t healing at all, or at the very least on your time frame, no one trusts you, you can’t even trust yourself, your professional life is a mess, your finances are in a mess, and everything in general just feels overwhelming and unmanageable. 


The hard truth here is that the only thing you can do in this situation is double down on working on your own recovery, take it a day at a time, and really identify with those recovering around you and try to identify with the subtle ways their lives are improving. Personally, I’ve always found it easier to see improvement in others before I can see it in myself. 


I can promise you that it will get better if you stick with it.Your life may not end up looking exactly what you envisioned it to be, but you’ll also find over time that it is better and that it was worth it. Give it today, give it a year, or better yet give it 18 months. You can always go back to what you were doing. 


Recovery friends and professionals, I’d love your thoughts on this one! What have I missed, what would you add? 

Jason's Story - From Rock Bottom to New Heights: My Journey of Recovery and Reinvention

By Jason Ertrachter • February 4, 2025
With over a decade of alcohol and drug abuse, it became clear I could not drink responsibly or consume in moderation. Upon further review, I came to understand I was never able to drink responsibly and was predisposed to consume in excess. Moderation is a construct I still don’t understand. Alcohol, drugs, sugar, ego, all things I love to indulge in. At 25 years old, weeks before the pandemic, I found myself being escorted by security from my beloved office in a sought-after industry in a glamorous part of Los Angeles. Pursuing a career in talent management, the late nights, weekly drinking, daily drug use culminated in the unavoidable fear, anxiety and sense of calamity that led me to recovery. I asked myself, “What was the common denominator between lost jobs, friends lost, arrests, hurt feelings and selfishness?” People, places, things were always changing, but the one constant in my story was me with drugs and alcohol. Walking into the West Hollywood Recovery Center on Monday February 5th, 2020 at noon was not my first meeting. It was, however, the first meeting at which I listened and actually took suggestions. Meetings as a teenager, and again in college when my drug use got bad, were simply to get people off my back. As I look back, I understand that I actually needed to get out of my own way, not have those who loved me off of my back. I am grateful to have gotten sober during a time when the world shut down and so many struggled. I had nowhere to go, no outside distractions to challenge my commitment. I fully emerged myself in meetings and all that AA had to offer for young people. There were thousands of virtual meetings at every hour of the day, but more importantly, rooms and outdoor meetings in LA that never missed a beat. There was an underground community of meeting makers that continued to go to in-person meetings, masks on, hugs and fellowship. I found that the work of early recovery far outweighed the isolation. I left the entertainment industry with two years of sobriety. New career opportunities opened up pretty quickly for me. Transitioning into the startup and tech sales world, I was able to move back home to New York and be closer to my family. As my sobriety continued, new career paths continued to present themselves. When I was introduced to Matt and AJ, I was immediately impressed with their mission and welcomed the opportunity to join the team. I am confident that the combination of my personal and professional success, as well as my CARC, CRPA certification, made my decision the perfect one for me. Having hit my stride in my own recovery, I now see that that my purpose is to help others. It is a purpose I do not take lightly. I bring the same energy and focus that has helped me to get where I am today to other individuals and families alike looking for a better way.

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My name is Stephanie Myers, and I am excited to be part of the incredible team at You Are Accountable . As difficult as my journey prior to recovery was, I am grateful for every step along the way. My recovery journey began five years ago through what I believe was divine intervention. At my lowest point—mentally, physically, and spiritually—I was led to a 12-step recovery program. Most of my life was spent seeking relief from my internal and external struggles. During my teenage years, I thought I had found a solution, but my addiction only progressed, leading me to the depths of despair. My addiction compromised my morals, diminished my integrity, and left me with a profound sense of hopelessness. Overwhelmed by guilt and shame, I realized that everything in my life had to change. I became willing to do whatever it took to shift the trajectory of my life. Gradually, I connected with others who understood my pain and had found their way to recovery. I dedicated myself to internal work and began to fill the spiritual void that I had been attempting to fill with substances. Today, my life is filled with purpose, love, and more beauty than I could have ever imagined five years ago. It is my passion to help others realize that there is hope on the other side of addiction. As a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, I strive to help plant the seed of recovery and help others grow along their path to recovery.

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