Relapse Prevention vs. Recovery Maintenance: What’s the Difference?

Relapse prevention and recovery maintenance sound like the same concept, and people often use them interchangeably, but they’re actually talking about two different stages or parts of the recovery process, although “recovery maintenance” is the preferred term. Here’s more about the similarities, differences, and what it all means.

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Understanding Relapse Prevention

Relapse prevention involves focusing on avoiding old, harmful behaviors. It’s when you identify triggers or high-risk situations that could cause you to relapse, and you actively avoid them. You use the tools, strategies, and coping skills you learned in treatment to navigate these challenging times without giving in.

Key elements of relapse prevention include:

• Recognizing hypersexuality triggers and warning signs
• Developing coping strategies
• Creating and calling on your support system, when necessary
• Making lifestyle changes to minimize risks

Unpacking Recovery Maintenance

Recovery maintenance is sustaining and deepening long-term recovery and well-being. It’s generally thought that this comes after the immediate threat of relapse is no longer present and focuses more on building a fulfilling life that supports long-term sobriety and behavioral change.

Key elements of recovery maintenance include:

• Ongoing therapy or counseling
• Continued participation in support groups
• Healthy lifestyle and self-soothing habits like exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep
• Pursuing purposeful activities like work, hobbies, or volunteering
• Working to strengthen emotional regulation and resilience

In recovery maintenance, you’re creating a life where relapse is increasingly less likely because you’re living more authentically and feel good about the life you’re creating for yourself.

The Stigma of Sex Addiction and Recovery

The truth is that there’s still a lot of stigma around sex addiction and people in recovery, in general. Misconceptions, shame, and judgment often cloud discussions about compulsive sexual behavior.

Some of these common stigmas include:

• Disbelief. Many people dismiss sex addiction as a made-up diagnosis, despite growing clinical recognition of compulsive sexual behavior as a legitimate mental health issue.
• Excuses. People often assume those with sex addiction are simply rationalizing infidelity or inappropriate conduct, rather than recognizing it as an addiction.
• Flaws. Many people view sex addiction as evidence of a lack of self-control or poor values, rather than understanding it as an addiction.
• Untrustworthy. Assuming that people in recovery are dangerous, untrustworthy, or less than, instead of recognizing that addiction can happen to anyone.

These types of stigmas directly affect how people in recovery see themselves. They may even create barriers to treatment, prolonging addiction. That’s why it’s important to take steps, even small ones, to discredit and disprove them.

Language Matters in Recovery

Some mental health professionals are moving away from the term “relapse prevention” because it can cause a person in long-term recovery to think they won’t get over their addiction.

Instead, the term “recovery maintenance” seems to be better at promoting long-term wellness. It allows you to worry less about relapse and focus more on sustaining your recovery.

Treatment specialists are substituting demeaning terms, words, or phrases for ones that promote self-confidence, self-esteem, recovery, and long-term wellness.

Some preferred language examples include:

• “Person living with hypersexuality disorder” instead of “sex addict”
• “Person in recovery” instead of “former sex addict”
• “Recovery maintenance” instead of “relapse prevention”

The idea is to identify the problem without suggesting that you are the problem. Furthermore, using the right words and focusing on recovery maintenance can help you feel motivated to do the work necessary to live an addiction-free life.

Recovery Maintenance Programs

The term “recovery maintenance” works for both aspects of the concept. Essentially, once you move into recovery, you’re working to cope with triggers, avoid former negative behaviors, and build an authentic life of long-term sobriety.

Your recovery maintenance plan is tailored to suit your needs and may include the following services, resources, or interventions:

• Outpatient individual or group counseling
• Alumni programs
• Continuing care programs
• Medication therapy
• 12-step programs or recovery meetings

These programs and services are in keeping with the notion that recovery from addiction is a long-term process and involves various stages. Providing these and similar aftercare resources helps to increase your chances of recovery maintenance long after formal treatment ends.

In other words, it helps you achieve the goal of preventing relapse without focusing on the relapse itself.

Continuing Care at Begin Again Institute

Stigma remains the biggest barrier to addiction treatment faced by people with a sex addiction.

At Begin Again Institute, we recognize the vital role that continuing care plays in helping you maintain your recovery. Our treatment professionals and recovery maintenance specialists are trained to use language that doesn’t stigmatize and promotes abstinence without suggesting that a relapse looms.

We’ve seen how this approach increased the chance of long-term sobriety in our clients. We want you to enjoy the same level of confidence when you return home.

Contact us to find out more about our programs, including our 14-Day Men’s Intensive.