What Are The 5 Stages Of Addiction Recovery And How Long Do They Take
The process of recovering from addiction is never a clearly defined path with set timelines since everyoneâs substance abuse treatment has to be tailored to fit his or her needs. Some people may progress much faster while others can take longer to fully recover. However, there are specific stages each person will move through on the way to completing rehab and moving into ongoing aftercare to manage the addiction.
Reduce Stress In Your Life
Reducing stress is easier said than done. Telling someone to relax never works. Instead, you have to find something that works for your body, mind, spirit, and timeframe. Reducing stress in your life can come from many different avenues, and all of them require extra work at planning, portioning, or pardoning.
When you plan things, you are thinking ahead and create space in your schedule to be able to do these new things. To reduce stress by planning, you need to find some things that are external to your daily routine, which can bring your stress reduction, relaxation, and peace.
To plan appropriately, know about how much time you have during the day to devote to reducing stress with activities and practices that promote healthier stress levels. Also, decide which time of the day works best for you to put these practices and activities into place in your life.
Reducing stress in your life may be easier than you think. This article has many activities and routines that can help you to control and alleviate the stress of fighting addiction or to deal with the stress of your everyday life.
Admitting That One Is Powerless Over Addiction
Addiction is a disease that alters brain chemistry and function, thus affecting reward, motivation, willpower, and memory. The first step asks people to accept that they are not able to control their substance abuse and that their motivation and willpower have been compromised.
Moreover, when a person battles addiction, they are no longer able to regulate how much or how often they use drugs and/or alcohol. Identification of this loss control and the admittance of powerlessness over addiction is typically the first step in recovery.
You May Like: How To Convince An Addict To Go To Rehab
Read Also: How Many People Are Drug Addicts
Take A Moral Inventory
Once these first three steps have been completed, this next step is possible. When a person is looking to transform their life and behavior, it helps to take a good look with honesty and open-mindedness at whats going on in the present and how they got here. To do this, the person needs to analyze their behaviors to figure out just where things have gone wrong.
As explained on StepStudy.org, it can be challenging to know exactly what to analyze. However, the consensus is that the intent is to find out where the persons goals and aspirations have fallen and describe exactly what those personal defects are.
Stage : Active Recovery And Maintenance
As addiction is a chronic and progressive brain disease, there is no way to completely cure it. Instead, the most that can be done is to help a person overcome their substance abuse and provide them with the necessary tools to maintain abstinence on a daily basis. Up until this point, the addict and staff at a rehab facility have been working towards this goal. By the time Stage 5 begins, the individual will have put in much effort to overcome their substance use disorder and have received the necessary tools to begin recovery.
Recovery is an active process however, which means that it will be ongoing for the rest of the individuals life. The temptation to use drugs or drink alcohol may always be a possibility and recovering individuals must learn how to address their thoughts and behaviors that influence their addiction. This can sound like a daunting task, but thankfully over time and with the help they received during rehab, they will be better prepared to manage it than ever before.
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Crack Addiction
Detox Through Your First Days Of Sobriety
No matter the addictive substance or activity youre looking to remove from your life, the detox period will likely prove a difficult one. Once youve committed to removing the addition from your life, and once youve surrounded yourself with individuals and professionals who will accompany you and support you, its time to detox.
Its time to quit the addiction, and weather the detox period to come.
Whenever you remove an addiction from your life, the abstinence period can yield all sorts of personal responses. Youre likely to experience all sorts of physical and emotional reactions, as your body and mind together cope with the removal of the addiction. Lets make one thing very clear: every second you spend fighting against the effects of your detox period, every second you spend free of your addiction, is a victory. Even if youre only seconds, minutes or hours into your detox, youve already accomplished something you couldnt or didnt before: an attempt to distance yourself from the worst thing in your entire life.
Beyond the physical responses your body might have to a detox, youre also likely to experience one or several emotional responses. These can include temporary anxiety or stress, difficulty falling or staying asleep, emotional discomfort, even an inability to concentrate on anything else.
Variations Of The 12 Steps
Since its origin with AA, the 12-Step model has been adopted and altered by many groups to fit other programs for addiction treatment and otherwise. Many groups, like Narcotics Anonymous, use the steps exactly as they were conceived by AA. Others have modified the steps to fit their own needs and cultures. For example, a Native American group has combined the 12 Steps with the Native American concept of the Medicine Wheel to create a program designed specifically to help indigenous Americans who struggle with alcoholism and addiction, the Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps program. Others have come up with similar ideas to integrate the basic ideas of the 12 Steps into a cultural framework that makes sense for members of that culture.
Another variation comes from the fact that some people are uncomfortable with the specific, religious aspects of the 12-Step program. As stated above, and as evident by the steps themselves, the 12-Step model originated from a Christian point of view. Those who are not Christian have modified the steps to refer to their specific religious or spiritual practice as a way to connect more with the structure of the 12-Step program. In addition, a number of non-religious 12-Step groups have modified the steps to fit a secular model that can help those who are agnostic or atheist practice the program without feeling forced to adhere to a religion they dont believe in.
Recommended Reading: Am I Addicted To Cigarettes
Practice Exercise And Mindfulness With Yoga
Yoga is a great tool to help to cope with the stress and anxiety of a day or week, moving so fast that you feel like you cant breathe. Breathing to the place where there is stress or pressure in the body can help to loosen up the tension, and forward bends are particularly helpful for stress release because of the exhalation it creates in the body.
Yoga creates healthy stretching and breathing, which is known to relax the muscles of the body and promote oxygenation. Several of the best yoga techniques for reducing stress in your life are forward bends that promote deeper breathing.
- Rabbit Pose: With knees bent and chest on the ground in Childs Pose, hold your hands together, interlacing the fingers with the hands-on your back. Lifting your hips, slowly lift your hands as far as you would like while rolling to the crown of your head.
- Standing Forward Bend: In the standing position, keep legs straight and bend forward. This is a general toe-toucher, but in yoga, the knees can be slightly bent. Breathe out on the fold, breathe in immediately as you pull your fingers up to your knees, then exhale into a long luxurious fold trying to touch your toes.
- Corpse Pose: Lying still can cradle the body, especially after a workout or stretching practice with yoga. Lie down on your back with your legs straight and heels apart slightly. Palms of hands should be on your torso, and the stress should be taken off of your lower back.
Complete The Withdrawal Process
Residential detox is the stage when you eliminate drug or alcohol consumption. When you begin a detox, it often causes you to experience withdrawal symptoms. This part of recovery is uncomfortable, but medical support can eliminate any pain and most discomfort.
The good news is that detox is a short process. For many clients, it lasts for less than one week. Although we do not offer detox, we can refer you out to one of our partner facilities.
After youve detoxed, youll need to find a treatment program that meets your needs. There are many different types of treatment programs, so its important to find one thats right for you. Treatment usually includes some combination of therapy, counseling, and support groups.
You May Like: Do Opiate Addicts Ever Recover
How Drug Treatment Programs Can Help
A 12-step program is a set of principles that assists people suffering from alcohol abuse and addiction by providing individual action steps.
In 1939, Alcoholics Anonymous published its original 12-step method of recovery from alcoholism in the book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism. Many programs have started as offshoots of the original Alcoholics Anonymous program. Likewise, these problems include drug addiction, compulsion, and depression.
In 12-step drug treatment programs, recovery is discussing the effects of addictionphysical, mental, and emotionaland responding with specific actions. Two unique features of the 12-step program are:
- A group setting: The 12 steps of recovery are discussed and applied in a recovery group. Above all, members of these groups emphasize self-admission of the problem they are recovering from.
- Sponsorship: A sponsor is a more experienced recovering addict who guides new members of the group, much like a mentor. According to the related 12-step program of Narcotics Anonymous, A sponsor is simply another addict in recovery who is willing to share his or her journey through the Twelve Steps.
Some critics of 12-step drug treatment programs are leery of its emphasis on God. In the many decades since the beginning, Alcoholics Anonymous has adopted a spiritual focus. As a result, members of AA can define the higher power in their own way.
The Chance To Change Your Life
Your addiction has given you the opportunity to change your life. Changing your life is what makes recovery both difficult and rewarding. Recovery is difficult because you have to change your life, and all change is difficult, even good change. Recovery is rewarding because you get the chance to change your life. Most people sleepwalk through life. They dont think about who they are or what they want to be, and then one day they wake up and wonder why they arent happy.
If you use this opportunity for change, youll look back and think of your addiction as one of the best things that ever happened to you. People in recovery often describe themselves as grateful addicts. Why would someone be grateful to have an addiction? Because their addiction helped them find an inner peace and tranquility that most people crave. Recovery can help you change your life.
After 5 years of abstinence relapse is rare. A study followed 268 Harvard University undergraduates, and 456 non-delinquent inner-city adolescents. About 20 percent of the undergraduates and 30 percent of the inner-city adolescents were alcoholics in recovery. The men were followed until the age of 60, every two years by questionnaire, and every 5 years by physical examination. The study concluded that after 5 years of abstinence relapse is rare.
Recommended Reading: Is An Alcoholic An Addict
Readying Oneself For God To Remove Defects
Step 6 of a 12-Step program is about letting go of negativity and the past and moving forward with the help of ones Higher Power. Individuals pray, asking their higher power to remove their moral failings. Step 6 requires someone to understand that we often derive pleasure from our own flaws and sins, so being rid of them is more difficult than it seems.6
During Step 6, it may be helpful to write down several positive affirmations next to personal character issues, thus providing new and healthy methods for living in recovery.
Admit Powerlessness Over Addiction
Many people have probably heard the saying, The first step to solving a problem is admitting there is one. Well, the origin of this quote is very likely to be the first step in the 12-Step program, as defined originally by Alcoholics Anonymous and The Big Book.
In this first step, the goal is for the individuals to admit that they do have a problem with alcohol or drugs. This problem can be recognized, most basically, in three elements:
- The individual has a compulsive need to use drugs or alcohol.
- The use of drugs or alcohol is causing major disruption or consequences in the persons life.
- The person has tried to quit using, and failed, multiple times.
When the individual accepts that these are true, and realizes that help is needed to recover from this problem, that is quite literally the first step toward recovery.
Read Also: How To Cure Food Addiction
Get Physically Fit With Exercise
The mind and body connection are wonderful to tap into and use as a way to relieve stress. Exercise, in general, can come in many styles and durations, but all of them can aid in relieving stress.
However, some mind and body connection exercises are better than others. The body is not meant to be sedentary all day, so finding an exercise that incorporates as many parts of your body may be of the best benefit. The best exercise that forces you out of your seat and using a wide array of muscle groups are:
Does American Addiction Centers Offer 12 Step Programs
Yes, most American Addiction Centers rehab locations integrate some 12-step ideology into their program model in the form of optional 12-step groups, because this does seem to be a helpful and effective supplemental modality for many clients. To learn more about our treatment centers that offer 12-step programs and meetings, call .
Read Also: What Are The Three Stages Of Addiction
Whats The Difference Between The 12 Steps And 12 Traditions
The 12 step model is based on the experiences of two men, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob, who, in the early 12th century, discovered that helping each other with their addictions were able to help themselves. Their discoveries led to the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous and the earliest iterations of the 12 steps. The process created by these men and the organizations that followed them is encapsulated in The Big Book, a summary of the steps they discovered could help them learn to manage their addiction issues.
As AA chapters grew and expanded, the 12 traditions were formed as a guide for relationships between groups, members, and other groups.
Aftercare Programs As Part Of The Stages Of Recovery From Addiction
When a person has been through detox and rehab, they are not cured from their addiction. Addiction is a chronic disease which needs constant attention. One way to help stay sober is to follow through with the steps for addiction recovery by taking part in an aftercare program. One of the largest and oldest support groups and addiction aftercare programs is Alcoholics Anonymous . AA, as well as NA, Narcotics Anonymous help addicts and alcoholics keep on track with their recovery through meetings, counseling, and personal support structures for members.
Recommended Reading: Can You Get Addicted To Lorazepam
Tips For Finding The Best Drug Addiction Treatment For You
Remember that no treatment works for everyone. Everyones needs are different. Whether you have a problem with illegal or prescription drugs, addiction treatment should be customized to your unique situation. Its important that you find a program that feels right.
Treatment should address more than just your drug abuse. Addiction affects your whole life, including your relationships, career, health, and psychological well-being. Treatment success depends on developing a new way of living and addressing the reasons why you turned to drugs in the first place. For example, your drug dependency may have developed from a desire to manage pain or to cope with stress, in which case youll need to find a healthier way to relieve pain or to handle stressful situations.
Commitment and follow-through are key. Drug addiction treatment is not a quick and easy process. In general, the longer and more intense the drug use, the longer and more intense the treatment youll need. And in all cases, long-term follow-up care is crucial to recovery.
There are many places to turn for help. Not everybody requires medically supervised detox or an extended stint in rehab. The care you need depends on a variety of factors, including your age, drug-use history, medical or psychiatric conditions. In addition to doctors and psychologists, many clergy members, social workers, and counselors offer addiction treatment services.
What Are The 12 Steps Of Addiction Recovery
The 12 steps of addiction recovery are a set of guidelines that provide a framework for recovery from addiction. These steps have been proven to be effective in helping people overcome addiction and live a life of sobriety. Prairie Recovery offers a 12-step addiction treatment program that can help you to overcome addiction and get on the road to recovery. Call us at to learn more.
Don’t Miss: How To Overcome Eating Addiction
Why Did You Get Addicted To Drugs
Your path to drug addiction probably began by taking drugs for recreational use or by using a prescription for a medical condition. Over time, your ability to choose not to take drugs became compromised. Seeking and relying on drugs became compulsive. Long-term drug exposure changes your brain and can have harmful and long-lasting consequences.
