08/17/2026
Have you ever tripped over your own feet and immediately turned around to check if anyone noticed?
A relapse during betrayal trauma recovery can have a similar reaction—a glance back to see if anyone witnessed the misstep or an effort to cover it up so your spouse doesn't see your vulnerability.
Keep these three steps in mind whenever you experience a minor or major relapse on your recovery journey:
⏯ PURGE: Stuffing your emotions can eventually lead to an explosion. It's important to purge the toxic thoughts and feelings that may arise during a relapse. Share your struggles with a trusted mentor, journal about your emotions, and lay everything at the foot of the cross. God can handle your sorrow and anger. The real danger lies in keeping everything inside; the Enemy can twist your thoughts into something harmful.
⏯ PROCESS: Meet with trained counselors or a life coach to explore the reasons behind the relapse. What went well? What went wrong? What triggers led you to this point? What boundaries will be required moving forward? What aspects of your recovery journey need to be challenged to prevent further slips?
⏯ PRAY: Keep your friends close and enemies even closer. Pray for those who have hurt you—yep, I just said that. It's something God encourages us to do, and I'll admit, it's a tough one. The person you've been trying to restore your relationship with has betrayed you again, yet God still asks you to pray for them.
If communication is toxic and you don't have a neutral third party to help, focus on prayer. Pray for your healing, pray for your spouse's healing, pray that temptation stays away, pray for forgiveness, pray for genuine heart change, and pray for God's will to be fulfilled in your relationships.
Will you join me in praying for the couple navigating a recent relapse, for the bride hurting all over again?
