Relaps: Co dělat, když se psychoterapie zdá, že se zase zastavila
When you’re making progress in therapy and then suddenly feel like you’re back at square one, it’s not failure—it’s relaps, návrat původních příznaků nebo chování, i když jste dříve cítili lepší. Also known as opakování symptomatického cyklu, it’s a normal, even expected, part of healing for many people dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, or addiction. This doesn’t mean your therapy didn’t work—it means your brain and body are still learning how to stay on track. Many assume that once you start feeling better, you’re “cured.” But real change isn’t linear. It’s messy. It’s two steps forward, one step back. And that’s okay.
Relaps doesn’t happen because you’re weak or didn’t try hard enough. It often happens because the underlying patterns—like avoiding difficult emotions, using distractions to numb pain, or falling back into old relationship dynamics—are deeply wired. Your brain is trying to protect you, even if the protection no longer serves you. That’s why therapy doesn’t just teach you new thoughts—it helps you build new neural pathways over time. And sometimes, stress, life changes, or even good news can trigger a relapse. A promotion, a new relationship, or a holiday can be just as destabilizing as a loss or conflict.
What matters isn’t whether you relapse, but what you do after. The best therapists don’t treat relaps as a problem to fix—they treat it as data. What triggered it? What thoughts came up? What coping strategy failed? These are the clues that lead to deeper change. Tools like terapeutické deníky, záznamy emocí a myšlenek mezi sezeními, které pomáhají identifikovat vzory, or cvičení pro duševní zdraví, konkrétní úkoly, které posilují emocionální regulaci, are designed exactly for this. They help you catch the early signs before you’re fully back in the old pattern. And if you’ve been through trauma, trauma-informovaný přístup, přístup, který rozumí tomu, že relaps může být retraumatizací, pokud není zpracován bezpečně makes all the difference.
You’re not alone in this. Most people who stick with therapy experience at least one relapse. What separates those who keep moving forward from those who give up isn’t talent or luck—it’s knowing how to respond. The articles below show you exactly how: from recognizing the early warning signs, to rebuilding your safety net after a setback, to working with your therapist so relaps becomes a learning tool, not a defeat. You’ve already come this far. This isn’t the end of your journey—it’s just another turn on the road.
