What Are the Five Recovery Stages in Drug Addiction?
There are five drug addiction recovery stages; precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. To know more about what the different stages imply, read on…
Precontemplation Stage of Addiction Recovery
Those who are in the first stage of rehab are not ready for any kind of addiction treatment program. During this phase, they become defensive and are endless justifying what they have done. People are obviously lacking any insight as to the negative side of excessive drug or alcohol use, while they focus on the positive side of what they experience by usage of the drug of choice. If someone doesn’t know about the behaviors of such addictive substances, he may remain in this stage. One reason we see people on the precontemplation stage on a monthly basis is because they are disheartened with repeated recovery and drug treatment failures. Most people in precontemplation believe that recovery is impossible for them. The truth is that anyone, in any stage, can recover.
Contemplation Stage of Recovery
Its next phase is that guided by contemplative readiness. If you take all of that together, it means that person is ready to bring change forward at some point in the future, but not right now. Unlike the previous stage, they are familiarized with the pros on getting drug free. But nonetheless, they are also still aware that they are getting very significant benefit from being an alcoholic or drug addiction. This is a key point for family members and treatment facilities because they believe the person will be more likely to listen to reason. If we can avoid the blame, judgment and accusations we can lead them to the next stage.
Preparation Stage of Addiction Recovery
The preparation stage helps the individual get a sense of urgency they want to be sober, coming into play prior to actually being experiencing withdrawal. Usually, they have taken some steps to act, such as wanting to go to the gym, see a counselor or to stop drug addiction on their own without going through a treatment center. People in this stage are normal to go a day or so without the use of drugs or alcohol, no matter—some will slide back into contemplation or precontemplation when things start to trigger the person and difficult emotions arise.
Action Stage of Recovery
At this stage, the person has implemented most if not all the changes and is committed to those changes. This is a stage of change characterized with long periods of abstinence and wishing to seek out professional help before or after relapse. Not stopping the destructive behavior is not enough, a great change will occur across various aspects of their life style. This is a treatment stage that has both self-care and self-understanding, but that still requires counselling to keep on the right track.
Maintenance Stage of Addiction Recovery
When in the maintenance stage, the person is attempting to avoid the relapse of the addiction recovery. In fact, they are continuing with the lifestyle changes they were making, like exercise, recreational pursuits, no intoxicants, sleep hygiene and attending support groups. In the action stage people are less likely to get the urge to relapse and therefore they have more confidence to maintain sobriety for the long term. The time spent in this stage varies from six months to five years, depending on the degree drug addiction, the person’s genes and experience. For a small part of the group, somewhere between six months and a year of abstinence, it doesn’t go back to the addiction behavior. But it rarely happens within two to five years, especially for most people, to break the habit and truly change.
