How the Abstinence Violation Effect Affects Recovery Realize Behavioral Health

Otherwise, recovering individuals are likely to make the worst of a single mistake and accelerate back through the relapse process as a result. In other words, AVE describes the thoughts, feelings, and actions a person goes through after they make a mistake and have a drink or abuse a substance, despite trying to quit. Learning healthy coping mechanisms can help you manage stress, cravings, and triggers without resorting to substance use.

Common Features Of The Abstinence Violation Effect

There are many relapse prevention models used in substance abuse treatment to counter AVE and give those in recovery important tools and coping skills. In conclusion, the abstinence violation effect is a psychological effect that impacts those in recovery, as well as those who are focused on making more positive behavioral choices in their lives. By reframing lapses as learning opportunities and teachable moments, cultivating self-compassion, and seeking support, individuals can navigate these challenges more effectively, increasing their chances of leading a healthier lifestyle.

Emotional Relapse

An abstinence violation can also occur in individuals with low self-efficacy, since they do not feel very confident in their ability to carry out their goal of abstinence. No matter how much abstinence is the desired goal, viewing any substance use at all as a relapse can actually increase the likelihood of future substance use. It encourages people to see themselves as failures, attributing the cause of the lapse to enduring and uncontrollable internal factors, and feeling guilt and shame. AVE occurs when someone who is striving for abstinence from a particular behavior or substance experiences a setback, such as a lapse or relapse. Instead of viewing the incident as a temporary setback, the individual perceives it as evidence of personal failure, leading to increased feelings of guilt, shame, and hopelessness (Collins & Witkiewitz, 2013; Larimer, Palmer, & Marlatt, 1999).

AVE in the Context of the Relapse Process

Laurel, as the Director of Corporate Compliance for USR, is responsible for ensuring that the facility follows all federal and state regulatory requirements, accreditation standards and industry best practices. Laurel has over twenty years’ experience in legal and regulatory affairs in both the public and private sectors. She attended the University of Kansas where she studied political science, and she is designated by the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) as a Certified National Investigator and Inspector (CNII). Prior to joining Amethyst, she served as the Director of Enforcement for a state regulatory body. As of 2020, the number of drug-involved overdose deaths reached an all-time high of 91,799, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. At least 74.8% of those deaths involved opioids, 14% involved heroin, 26% involved psychostimulants, primarily…

• Mindfulness training, for example, can modify the neural mechanisms of craving and open pathways for executive control over them.
• Once relapsed, this strongly held belief increases the likelihood of relapse.
• In addition, many individuals in recovery consider a single slip as a full-blown relapse.
• What is the abstinence violation effect, and what are the signs of a coming relapse?
• A person who can execute effective coping strategies (e.g. a behavioural strategy, such as leaving the situation, or a cognitive strategy, such as positive self-talk) is less likely to relapse compared with a person lacking those skills.

Some examples of proven coping skills include practicing mindfulness, engaging in exercise, or pursuing activities that bring you fulfillment. It’s important to challenge negative beliefs and cognitive distortions that may arise following a relapse. Counteracting the effects of the AVE is necessary to support long-term recovery from addiction. Thus, despite various definitional issues in the research, the above definitions will guide this article and discussing the issue of relapse. How one defines relapse may be an important influence on determining what happens when one suffers a lapse or slip. For instance, one interesting manifestation of a lapse is something termed the abstinence violation effect.

Balanced lifestyle and Positive addiction

This type of policy is increasingly recognized as scientifically un-sound, given that continued substance use despite consequences is a hallmark symptom of the disease of addiction. Although it may be helpful for treatment centers to incorporate small penalties or rewards for specific client behaviors , enforcing harsh consequences when clients do not maintain total abstinence will only exacerbate the AVE. As a reminder, in an era of very potent opioids, this can lead to fatal results. One of the biggest problems with the AVE is that periods of abstinence from opioids increase a person’s risk of overdose and today’s heroin is often tainted with super-potent fentanyl analogs. As a result, the AVE can be profoundly dangerous in today’s drug market.

Cognitive neuroscience of self-regulation failure

In the absence of an emergency plan for just such situations, or a new life with routines to jump into, or a strong social network to call upon, or enhanced coping skills, use looms as attractive. Alternatively, a person might encounter some life difficulties that make memories of drug use particularly alluring. Future research with a data set that includes multiple measures of risk factors over multiple days can help in validating the dynamic model of relapse.

Clients are taught to reframe their perception of lapses, to view them not as failures but as key learning opportunities resulting from an interaction between various relapse determinants, both of which can be modified in the future. Before any substance use even occurs, clinicians can talk to clients about the AVE and the cognitive distortions that can accompany it. This preparation abstinence violation effect can empower a client to avoid relapse altogether or to lessen the impact of relapse if it occurs. Ivori Zvorsky is an undergraduate student obtaining her major in psychology at the University of Richmond, USA. Working with Dr Lindgren, she has investigated implicit alcohol cognitions, along with the impact of the environment on self-reported measures of alcohol consumption.

• In addition, feelings of guilt and shame are isolating and discourage people from getting the support that that could be of critical help.
• Specifying how behavioral change occurs—such as the relevant neurological and biological pathways—is a critical gap that needs to be addressed.
• The relationship between self-efficacy and relapse is possibly bidirectional, meaning that individuals who are more successful report greater self-efficacy and individuals who have lapsed report lower self-efficacy4.
• A single AVE instance can result in a long-term relapse for the individual.
• In the context of addiction, a breach of sobriety with a single drink or use of a drug has a high likelihood of a full relapse.

People in recovery may experience a return to a cycle of active addiction when they relapse. While relapse does not mean you can’t achieve lasting sobriety, it can be a disheartening setback in your recovery. Looking back does have its benefits in that it helps us identify weaknesses in our program. The problem is that abstinence violation effect magnifies these weaknesses and prevents us from seeking solutions.