rehab cycle

The loop that an addict gets stuck in when they are trying to get sober but they keep relapsing.

The stages usually involve the following: going to rehab, maintaining a (short) period of sobriety, beginning to use again, total relapse, and finally returning to rehab, which then restarts the loop. The loop will keep repeating until the addict either stops going back to rehab (sometimes due to being unable to afford it or being incarcerated), maintains a reasonable level of sobriety, or dies.