The Addicted Mind Podcast · Duane Osterlind, LMFT

TAM+ EP 85 Your Relapse Prevention Blueprint: Strategies for Staying on Track

·18 min·1 clip

Dwayne reveals how the National Institute of Drug Abuse defines addiction as a chronic relapsing disorder, removing shame from recovery.

This episode of The Addicted Mind Plus focuses on creating a proactive relapse prevention plan using cognitive behavioral therapy principles. Hosts Dwayne and Eric Osterlund, who work in the addiction recovery field, guide listeners through shifting from fear to empowerment. They address the common experience of feeling stuck in recovery despite doing therapeutic work. The hosts describe recovery often feeling like walking a tightrope with constant anxiety about relapse. They identify key pain points as the fear of messing up and the crushing shame following a slip. A core topic is "all or nothing" thinking, a cognitive distortion where a single slip leads to feelings of total failure. The episode reframes relapse not as a moral failure but as a predictable part of a chronic disorder, citing the National Institute on Drug Abuse's definition of addiction. The strategy involves identifying unique, specific high-risk situations, which can be internal states like boredom or external triggers like a specific invitation. Listeners are instructed to build a "coping card," a pre-written plan for one identified situation, such as calling a sponsor when a cousin invites you to a bar. A surprising insight is that triggers can be positive feelings, like the excited energy felt on a Friday afternoon after work. The model emphasizes using a clear-thinking "online" brain to create plans for when the "offline," crisis-mode brain takes over. The hosts present a slip as valuable data to analyze and learn from, changing the narrative from "I failed" to "I learned." They argue this proactive planning builds resilience and self-trust, fundamentally shifting one's role from a passive victim to an active manager of recovery. The episode provides a free downloadable worksheet to help build this blueprint. The tone is educational, supportive, and highly practical, with the hosts sharing relatable examples from their own journeys. The style is conversational and directive, offering clear, actionable steps within a concise format. Listeners actively seeking structured, skill-based recovery tools would find this episode immediately useful. Anyone feeling trapped by the fear of relapse or shame after a slip would benefit from its perspective shift. Individuals who prefer narrative-driven or deeply philosophical discussions about addiction might find the focused, worksheet-oriented approach less engaging.

As heard by us

A calm relapse plan that treats shame as information.

Relapse prevention is treated as work that starts before the rough moment, not after it hits. Dwayne and Eric keep circling back to triggers, shame, and the small habits that can make a slip feel sudden, then show how those same details can become part of a steadier plan.

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Why you'd press play

Build a relapse blueprint before the hard day shows up.

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