What Are The 6 Stages Of Addiction Recovery
The six stages of addiction recovery are a map for identifying how far down you are on your journey of recovery. This helps you reach out to the right people and gives you a better idea of what you should expect from yourself.
The stages were acknowledged in 1992 by researchers James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente. While their research has more depth than any one article could, the basic stages of addiction recovery are easily identified and explained.
What Kind Of Care Is Needed During Recovery
What is needed is any type of care or program that facilitates not merely a drug-free life but the pursuit of new goals and new relationships. There are many roads to recovery, and needs vary from individual to the next. Some people need medication to help them recover, some need the structured support of an outpatient program of a treatment facility to help them through, others need a recovery residence, while others get sufficient information and nourishment from the regular contact with others that self-help groups provide. Others do well on their own making use of available community resources.
But attention to the addiction is only one facet of recovery. Recovery involves rebuilding a life returning to wellness and becoming a functioning member of society. Every person needs a comprehensive recovery plan that addresses educational needs, job skills, social relationships, and mental and physical health. Therapy may be critical to resolving underlying problems that made escape into substance use so appealing in the first place.
There Are 5 Stages Of Addiction Recovery Your Loved One Will Go Through
Every major life change we face follows the path of what experts call The Five Stages of Change. Recovery from addiction is a major change and is therefore no different. At each stage of addiction, we move from denial of the addiction to a place of wellbeing and continued recovery.
Understanding the stages of recovery can help family members and loved ones connect with the struggles their parent, child, or friend is facing, and better understand whats required to overcome a disease as debilitating as addiction.
Also Check: How To Stop Food Addiction
Does Recovery Occur In Stages
No matter which pathway of recovery a person chooses, a common process of change underlies them all. The well-researched science of behavior change establishes that addictive behavior change, like any behavior change, is a process that starts long before theres any visible shift in activity. Studies define five stages of change in addiction recovery.
Precontemplation: Substance users are unaware that their use is causing problems, although others around them are, and they have no intention of changing behavior.
Contemplation: Substances users begin to realize that their use has some negative consequences and it might be time to make a change, but they have no commitment to action.
Decision: Intention develops to take action about the substance use as concrete goals begin to take shape. A start date is set.
Action: The decision is put into action, with new behaviors learned and practiced. Action may involve contacting a doctor, entering a treatment program, or finding a peer support group.
Maintenance: New behavior replaces old behavior, and change gains momentum with the desire to make it permanent.
What Role Do Friends Play In Recovery
Although addiction tends to cut people off from longtime friends, social support is a significant predictor of recovery. Friends have an independent standing that family members do not, and those who are addicted typically do not have a clear picture of the impact of their behavior on themselves and otherswhich is why friends can play an important role in voicing credible concerns about problem behavior and encouraging someone to seek or stay in treatment. They may know something about the persons deepest aspirations and voice them as a reminder that can help the person remain on the road to recovery. Friends can be vital sources of support on the bad days. And they can help plan healthy joint activities to ensure that there are good days.
But addiction and friendship have two sides. There are some friends who are better left behindthose who are linked to the addictive experience. People in the throes of addiction are not capable of the best form of friendship. Further, those friends can serve as a cue that sets off drug craving and challenges the recovery process.
You May Like: Why Do We Get Addicted To Alcohol
Therapeutic Strategies In Middle
In middle-stage recovery, as the client experiences some stability, the therapeutic factors of self-knowledge and altruism can be emphasized. Universality, identification, cohesion, and hope remain important as well.
Practitioners have stressed the need to work in alliance with the client’s motivation for change. The therapist uses whatever leverage existssuch as current job or marriage concernsto power movement toward change. The goal is to help clients perceive the causal relationship between substance abuse and current problems in their lives. Counselors should recognize and respect the client’s position and the difficulty of change. The leader who leaves group members feeling that they are understood is more likely to be in a position to influence change, while sharp confrontations that arouse strong emotions and appear judgmental may trigger relapse .
The goal is to help clients perceive the causal relationship between substance abuse and current problems in their lives.
How To Get Help
Getting help can mean different things for different people and it can take many different forms. For some people it may mean complete abstinence or continued treatment using opioid replacement therapies such as methadone or buprenorphine.
There are also many health and social services available across Canada including non-medical therapies, such as counselling, or support from people with lived and living experience.
Find out what resources are available in your province.
How you can help. A small change can help reduce the cycle of stigma
Stigma around substance use can prevent people from getting the help that they need. You can help by:
Listening with compassion and without judgment, so a person who uses drugs feels heard and understood
Speaking up when someone is being treated disrespectfully because of their substance use and
Being kind with the words you use. Words Matter. Use people first language.
- Instead of junkie use a person who uses drugs
- Instead of addict use people who have used drugs
- Instead of drug abuse use substance use
Read Also: What Do Drug Addicts Do
Recovering From Addiction Requires An Almost Complete Change
In this stage, recovering addicts will learn to adapt to a life thats free of addiction. Patients are usually most motivated during the earliest stages of drug addiction recovery. However, as reality sets in and they begin to face new obstacles, relapse becomes a real threat.
Through all this, these young men and women begin to develop greater confidence in their skills, passions, and knowledge. They also receive individualized drug and alcohol treatment, drug testing, and medication management at our clinical facilities and make healthful progress. Phase II is truly when the greatest physical and emotional transformation takes shape. Consideration This stage of recovery involves moving away from denial and turning awareness into action. A user, acknowledging that a problem exists, will start to look within the self and consider how addiction has negatively impacted his or her life. At the same time, a user will also look beyond the self to see how his or her drug addiction has affected others.
Your Loved One May Flow Back And Forth Between These Stages As They Head Towards Recovery
Despite the way we think about The 5 Stages of Recovery, these stages arent necessarily linear. Recovery is a lifelong process that takes work and determination. Your loved one may begin to prepare to make changes, but some days shift back into the contemplative stage as they consider the huge changes that recovery will bring to their life.
Thats okay. And its what our team at The GateHouse is here for. We work to help each of our clients navigate their own, personal road to lifelong recovery, no matter how long and windy it may be.
We create a support system for each of our clients to break the cycle of substance abuse and get them on a path towards recovery. We make sure that appropriate interventions are made at any level of care based on the clients stage of change. Whether they need our Residential Extended Care program, a transitional livingenvironment, or outpatient support, we are here for them.
Every step is individualized so our clients receive the best care for their personal needs.
When you and your loved one are ready to discuss a treatment plan and start to work towards long-term recovery, our team will be here ready to support you on your journey.
The GateHouse offers addiction treatment services for long-term addiction recovery with locations throughout Lancaster County, PA. Wed love to help you with your next step in recovery. Reach out to us today!
Don’t Miss: How To Get Relief From Drug Addiction
The Stages Of Change Model Of Overcoming Addiction
John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine. He is the medical director at Alcohol Recovery Medicine. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health .
The stages of change or transtheoretical model is a way of describing the process by which people overcome addiction. The stages of change can be applied to a range of other behaviors that people want to change, but have difficulty doing so, but it is most well-recognized for its success in treating people with addictions.
This model was developed from research looking at how change occurs in natural recovery from addictions. It has been embraced by health care providers seeking to move away from confrontational and pathological approaches toward motivational and person-centered approaches, such as motivational interviewing.
In Need Of Substance Abuse Treatment
If you or someone you love is currently battling a fight against addiction, Brookdale Addiction Recovery can help.
Through a patient-centric approach to treatment, our program will provide you or your loved with the individualized care you need to begin your liferecovered. With various treatment options and modalities, including detoxification, residential treatment, 12-Step integration, family therapy, holistic approaches and comprehensive aftercare planning, each patient receives the necessary tools to overcome substance abuse and begin living a life full of meaning and purpose.
To learn more about our program or to speak with an Admissions Specialist today, please call us at
Don’t Miss: How To Deal With Husband Addiction
Stage : The Maintenance Stage
The final stage is the maintenance stage. This is characterized by a continuation of the progress made in the action stage. This stage required continued motivation and commitment to maintaining sobriety. The maintenance stage requires resilience, persistence, and effective stress management as this is a stage where complacency can set in which may lead to a lapse. Having a great support system and being offered the right guidance can be a great way of avoiding setbacks to help you, or your family member stays on track.
The Stages Of Addiction
Sometimes, these stages may occur simultaneously. As an example, for illicit substances used to feel a high, even one use is considered to be abuse. Some of these illicit substances can also result in tolerance within one or two uses. Nevertheless, in the majority of cases, all of these steps are part of the chronic cycle of addiction.
On the other hand, the addictive potential of some drugs may be so strong that what seems to be an immediate addiction may develop. However, for the vast majority of people struggling with addiction, there are stages of substance use or abuse that lead to the circumstances resulting in the person becoming addicted. In general, these stages include:
Don’t Miss: How To Be There For An Addict
Therapeutic Strategies In Late
In the early and middle stages of treatment, clients necessarily are so focused on maintaining abstinence that they have little or no capacity to notice or solve other kinds of problems. In late-stage treatment, however, the focus of group interaction broadens. It attends less to the symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse and more to the psychology of relational interaction.
In late-stage treatment, clients begin to learn to engage in life. As they begin to manage their emotional states and cognitive processes more effectively, they can face situations that involve conflict or cause emotion. A process-oriented group may become appropriate for some clients who are finally able to confront painful realities, such as being an abused child or abusive parent. Other clients may need groups to help them build a healthier marriage, communicate more effectively, or become a better parent. Some may want to develop new job skills to increase employability.
Some clients may need to explore existential concerns or issues stemming from their family of origin. These emphases do not deny the continued importance of universality, hope, group cohesion and other therapeutic factors. Instead it implies that as group members become more and more stable, they can begin to probe deeper into the relational past. The group can be used in the here and now to settle difficult and painful old business.
Stage : Repair Or Early Recovery
The second stage of recovery involves repairing the damages caused by the substance use. During this stage, youll begin to feel more in control of your life. As you take steps to repair damaged relationships, regain employment, and take charge of your finances, your self-esteem improves with each accomplishment.
Here are some suggestions for getting through this stage of recovery:
- Realize that your addiction does not define you.
- Place priority on self-care and use it often.
- Cultivate a healthier lifestyle through exercise, nutrition, etc.
- Let go of shame, guilt, anger, or fear.
- Repair relationships with loved ones.
- Regularly attend counseling or self-help groups.
One of the main causes of relapse during this stage of recovery is the failure to attend self-help sessions. You need interaction with others who are experiencing the same issues as you. Also, their tips, advice, and support can be valuable. Many individuals become friends during the sessions and continue the friendship outside of the group.
You May Like: How Can I Help Someone Addicted To Drugs
What Is The Significance Of Understanding The Phases Of Addiction Recovery
Addiction recovery isnt a straightforward process. Rehabilitation can be viewed as a journey through unknown territory towards your final destination. Although addiction recovery literature rarely mentions the process of recovery, knowing this notion can help you or a loved one when seeking treatment.
Its easy for some people to transition through the stages of addiction recovery, whereas others find it challenging because the motivation to seek help varies widely due to different reasons. For some, addiction is the same as addiction, even when it has extreme consequences. Even people with knowledge that they are suffering, may still find it difficult to find the motivation and self-control to take action and begin participating in the stages of addiction recovery. Occasionally an individual will identify the need for a change. In this sense, they are prepared to take whatever steps to obtain and maintain the necessary support.
Throughout countless rehabilitation programs in our country over the years, we have generated more optimism for the idea that addiction recovery and withdrawals can be achieved through motivation and positive action so that individuals will find sobriety. To overcome substance abuse, it is important to conquer underlying fears that contribute to substance abuse. You need to know yourself and change for the better because you can live a positive, fulfilling, and productive life after addiction recovery.
Support Systems For Recovery
Sustaining behavior change until new patterns become ingrained is difficult under the best of circumstances. In leaving addiction behind, most people have to restructure their everyday life, from what they think about and who they spend time with and where, to how they use their time, to developing and pursuing new goals. The shifts in thinking and behavior are critical because they lay the groundwork for changes in brain circuity that gradually help restore self-control and restore the capacity to respond to normal rewards.
Further, the behavior change requires constant decision-making often in the presence of deeply rooted desire for the drug escape, before most people have acquired belief in themselves and a complete set of coping skills to help them through the challenges. That makes self-trust one key to quitting, something that tends to be in short supply among those who have previously tried to quit and failed. There are many types of support to call on to help shore up resolve. Any and all are useful
Don’t Miss: Inspirational Quotes For Overcoming Addiction
How Long Does Recovery Take
The first step in the recovery process is stopping drug use. The endpoint is voluntary control over use and reintegration into the roles and responsibilities of society. Shortly after substance use is stopped, people may experience withdrawal, the onset of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms from irritability to shakiness to nausea delirium and seizures in severe cases. The symptoms can last up to a week or more.
Recovery hinges on successfully changing many deeply rooted behaviors, and how long that takesmonths or yearsdepends on many factors for each individual most important are avoidance of people and places where drugs are used, having supportive connections with others, learning new strategies for coping, and the availability of opportunities for developing or reconnecting with other interests and sources of reward. Behavioral therapy can be helpful. Relapse is common and experts see it as an opportunity for learning about and overcoming impediments to change.
