Dallas Bragg argues that guilt and shame after relapse actually make you more likely to use again. He explains why people overshare graphic details about their use, and why treating relapse as a moral failure requiring punishment keeps you stuck. Instead, he says, learn from it and move on.
The way you talk about a relapse after it's happened is the telltale way of knowing how far into shame you really are. There's a big difference in telling somebody, I relapsed, and going into the gory details of what you did, especially when you're talking about a crystal meth relapse. Typically, when you're oversharing the details of a crystal meth relapse, there's 2 reasons. One, you're getting off on sharing it, or 2, you're so deep in the shame of what you did You can't help but to share, look at how bad I am. Look at how terrible I acted. Look at what a loser and failure I am by doing these things. It seems counterintuitive, but the more shame and guilt you feel from a relapse, the more likely you're going to do it again. We have been programmed to think that we have to pay a penance after we relapse. That we have to make a confession to someone. It's okay to not feel guilty about a relapse, just use it as a learning experience and move the fuck on.
