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Stages of Addiction Recovery

What are the Stages of Addiction Recovery?

Alcohol and drug addiction is one of the pressing global health concerns affecting the young to adult population. As per the United States National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2022 report around 8 million (2.9 %) people from age 12 and above suffers from both drug use and alcoholism simultaneously. While some people can control addictive behavior themselves, for many it is problematic to overcome additions without professional guidance. There are five stages of addiction recovery.

Addiction is not only an individual’s problem. In serious cases of addiction a person fails to maintain a healthy family and social life. As a result, it creates a lot of psychological burdens for family members of the addicted person as well. Thus, understanding the stages of professional addiction recovery would be beneficial for both addicted persons and their family members. The following section of the blog would explain these five stages in detail.  

Five Stages of Addiction Recovery

The whole addiction recovery process is aimed at ensuring complete abstinence, reducing cravings and prevents relapsing of addictive tendencies. Depending on individual needs the stages of the addiction recovery is modified and often the linear order is not followed. 

There are people who recover quite fast while others are resistant to treatments and need extra time. However, broadly an order of five stages is maintained. These stages are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. The following section of the blog would discuss these stages in detail.

1. Precontemplation Stage 

Precontemplation stage is the most difficult stage for both the addicted person and the therapists. At this stage most patients are in a mode of denial and defensiveness. There is a dominant tendency to defend their standpoint and behavior.  

According to experts, this defensiveness is a result of lack of awareness regarding the harmful effects of addition. As a result, many people take a long time to move onto the next stage of recovery. Moreover, in this stage many treatment options fail and patients lose hope and patients continue the recovery process. However, it is clinically proven that it is possible for everyone to successfully complete the whole process. 

2. Contemplation Stage

At this stage patients are aware how addictive behavior is affecting their personal and professional life.  They realize that addiction is preventing them from achieving their life goals and hampering personal and social relationships. As a result, they start to accept the rehabilitation program but in the long term. However, it is still difficult for them to deny the positive energy they derived from addictions. 

In spite of that they are inclined to pay a patient hearing if explained logically the benefit of an addiction free life. Thus, family members and therapists need to keep in mind that they should maintain a logical approach in explanation. It is better to avoid the blaming approach as it might discourage the patients to continue the therapy all together. 

3. Preparation or Determination Stage

In this stage a person is fully motivated to take immediate action to overcome their addiction. They might start with practicing abstinence from alcohol and drugs at home or consuming small amounts initially.  However, there is a risk of withdrawal syndrome as people who are heavily addicted might face psychological problems. Family members need to be cautious at this stage and should take professional help in case of severity. Getting a certified substance abuse treatment is the ideal action in this regard. 

4. Action Stage

In the action stage a person admits that they have real problems and that their addiction is not harmful for them. They also might want to take help of a rehab facility to go through a systematic process of overcoming addiction. Rehabilitation centers help patients to change their old habits by strategic therapeutic intervention. They offer customized treatment keeping in mind that treatment response varies from one patient to another. They employ different techniques like somatic healing and grounding techniques to help them develop healthy coping mechanisms as an alternative. 

5. Maintenance

Maintenance is a preventive stage of relapse and addictive triggers. A patient might have adopted healthy behavioral changes over a span of 6 months in the rehab. However, without continuous assistance, they might experience a relapse of their addictive tendencies. As a result, they need to stay in contact with the rehab for their after treatment. 

Some rehab centers offer group discussion and peer-to-peer discussion to help them find support from people facing the same challenges.  These group sessions are even helpful after one-on one session as they can gain inspiration from real life examples. It assures them that if the other person can overcome addictive behavior they too can do the same. 

Endnote

The stages of addiction recovery are not an easy process for a person suffering from addiction. Family members need to realize that addiction is a coping mechanism that helps people to avoid stressful life events. Thus, while dealing with the recovery process they must avoid a blaming approach. It is highly recommended that they reach out to certified professionals who can provide appropriate treatment and a conducive environment.

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