The term relapse may be used to describe a prolonged return to substance use, whereas lapsemay be used to describe discrete,… 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). It can impact someone who is trying to be abstinent from alcohol and drug use in addition to someone trying to make positive changes to their diet, exercise, and other aspects of their lives. What do these non-significant results now mean for the current debate surrounding social media, digital disconnection, and well-being?
Ark Behavioral Health
With the right help, preparation, and support, you and your loved ones can still continue to build a long-lasting recovery from substance abuse. Otherwise, recovering individuals are likely to make the worst of a single mistake and accelerate back through the relapse process as a result. It includes thoughts and feelings like shame, guilt, anger, failure, depression, and recklessness as well as a return to addictive behaviors and drug use. As a result, the AVE can trigger a cycle of further relapse and continued substance use, since people may turn to substances as a way to cope with the emotional distress. And Y.V.Z. collected and analyzed the data and performed the risk of bias assessment.
Ohio Recovery Center
We therefore recommend that future researchers prioritize using objective methods to assess compliance, rather than relying solely on self-reported data. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that, although the included researcher-imposed social media abstinence studies offer valuable insights, they may not fully capture the dynamics of voluntary digital detoxes. As such, it is essential to consider the role of intentions and motivations when examining the effectiveness of social media abstinence interventions. We included peer-reviewed studies on the effects of social media abstinence on affective well-being and/or life satisfaction that were written in English or Dutch, used an experimental or mixed-method design, and involved adults.
Publication bias
These responses, both physical and psychological, can be very difficult to deal with. Prolonged use of a substance causes a level or physical tolerance but after a period of abstinence that tolerance declines substantially. This is why many individuals who have been abstinent (or „clean”) for awhile accidentally overdose by starting to use again at the same level of use they were at before their abstinence period. Equally bad can be the sense of failure and shame that a formerly „clean” individual can experience following a return to substance use.
Effect of social media abstinence on negative affect
- These responses, both physical and psychological, can be very difficult to deal with.
- When you’ve experienced some success in your recovery, you may think that you can return to drug or alcohol use and control it.
- When one returns to substance use after a period of abstinence, they experience a negative cognitive and affective reaction known as an abstinence violation effect in psychotherapy.
- Taken together, this study indicates that abstaining from social media might not be the most effective method for individuals wanting to improve their well-being.
- It includes thoughts and feelings like shame, guilt, anger, failure, depression, and recklessness as well as a return to addictive behaviors and drug use.
- Ideally, this research considers relevant population characteristics upon which the success of the intervention may be contingent.
Unfortunately, a single lapse can cause you to fall into a full relapse because of something called the abstinence violation effect (AVE). It is not necessarily a failure of self-control nor a permanent failure to abstain from using a substance of abuse. Those in addiction treatment or contemplating treatment can benefit from this aspect of relapse prevention. Table 1 provides an overview of the study characteristics of the ten included studies. These studies were mainly conducted in developed countries and were relatively recent, which is not unexpected given the fact that social media are relatively new digital platforms, and digital disconnection is a rather novel phenomenon.
- Anxiety, depression, loneliness, and irritability are all symptoms of this stage.
- In high-risk situations, the person expects alcohol to help him or her cope with negative emotions or conflict (i.e. when drinking serves as “self-medication”).
- First, the sample of the included studies often contained a rather small number of participants.
- It is estimated that 40% to 60% of people who have been sober for some time will relapse at some point, according to statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
- After six successful months of recovery, Joe believed he was well on his way to being sober for life; however, one evening, he got into a major argument with his wife regarding her relationship with another man.
- Despite the many benefits they bring, however, social media channels also come with certain drawbacks, as these platforms have the potential to evoke stress, induce feelings of missing out, and hamper people’s concentration and productivity3,4,8.
Reach out to friends, family, or support groups for encouragement during difficult times. Overall, the Abstinence Violation Effect is a complex phenomenon influenced by a combination of cognitive, emotional, and biological factors. There are several factors that can contribute to the development of the AVE in people recovering from addiction.
Recently, Nguyen24 identified three key motivations behind people’s decision to temporarily disconnect from social media. First, the author highlighted that individuals distanced themselves for reasons that are related to the uses and features of social media platforms (e.g., overload due to mindless and habitual smartphone use, lack of time and/or interest). Second, social influences, such as social pressure and privacy concerns, emerged as important motivations to disconnect from social media. Finally, the study revealed that one’s situational context (e.g., work-life balance, life events) can also drive people to refrain from social media platforms. Another possible outcome of a lapse is that the client may manage to abstain and thus continue to go forward in the path of positive change, “prolapse”4.
- On the one hand, it can serve as a valuable learning opportunity, highlighting the triggers and situations that lead to relapse or rule violation.
- Maintain a balanced lifestyle by eating healthily, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and engaging in activities that bring you happiness and fulfillment.
- Results were presented visually through a forest plot showing the individual and pooled effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals.
- Relapse prevention includes understanding what triggers substance abuse, which varies from person to person.
- When people don’t have the proper tools to navigate the challenges of recovery, the AVE is more likely to occur, which can make it difficult to achieve long-term sobriety.
- However, there are some common early psychological signs that a relapse may be on the way.
- Nevertheless, 40 to 60% of people who once were addicted to a substance and achieved sobriety relapse at some point, based on estimates from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Treatment Programs
Furthermore, we investigated whether and how these three well-being indicators are related to the duration of social media abstinence. Moreover, none of the studies blinded their participants, potentially leading to demand effects, where participants alter their responses based on their awareness of the study’s purpose69. We acknowledge that blinding participants in a social media abstinence intervention, where the participants are involved in the intervention, is not feasible. Yet, we think that future researchers could try to address this issue by, for example, objectively measuring the outcomes, using log data or physiological data70, and Halfway house perhaps also by deceiving participants about the true purpose of the study. A few studies also suffered from low compliance and only a limited number of studies in our sample objectively measured compliance rates.
Additionally, the support of a solid social network and professional help can play a pivotal role. Encouragement and understanding from friends, family, or support groups can help individuals overcome the negative emotional aftermath of the AVE. Rather than labeling oneself as a failure, weak, or a loser, recognizing the effort and progress made before the lapse can provide a more balanced perspective.
Abstinence Violation Effect & Relapse Prevention
Additionally, the study from Hall et al.37 was excluded as it used the same dataset as one of the other included papers16. The final sample for this meta-analysis thus consisted of 10 peer-reviewed papers. Figure 1 displays the PRISMA flow diagram that provides an overview of the entire search and selection process. It has also been used to advocate for managed alcohol and housing first programs, which represent a harm reduction approach to high-risk drinking among people with severe AUD (Collins et al., 2012; Ivsins et al., 2019). Because relapse is the most common outcome of treatment for addictions, it must be addressed, anticipated, and prepared for during treatment.
