Stages of Change in the Recovery of Addiction

Addiction is a process. It’s important to understand this when you’re working on your own recovery, but it’s also helpful information if you support someone else on your way.

If you understand these phases, you will know what to expect and how best to support your loved ones. 

These phases range from the preliminary consideration to the preparation and the actual action to the maintenance and a possible relapse. 

precontemplation

Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight or quit smoking knows what it feels like when you’re in a stage of the preliminary considerations.

They think as little as possible about the problem, because that doesn’t change anything. You may even actively avoid anything that could make you think, e.g., to see your girlfriend after she just had a baby or open her favorite magazine and see all the ads for cigarettes.

The most important thing about the preliminary consideration is: Don’t think about the change! 

But if you really want to change something in your life, you can’t get around this stage of change 

– You have to think about what you’re doing at the moment, that works so well for you (and why), and whether there might be other ways that work better.

Contemplation

Contemplation is a phase of change in which one thinks about the pros and cons of a change. 

You can see that in yourself or in others, and it’s not just limited to addiction to addiction. 

If you are thinking about getting married, buying a house or changing jobs, you may be in the contemplation phase.

You might also think about topics related to your recovery: “I think I’m an alcoholic” or “I want to stop drinking” or “How can I stop drinking?” 

These are examples of thinking about whether you have an addiction problem and how best to approach it. 

You can also talk to friends and relatives about your thoughts on treatment options and recovery plans (even if this may prolong the time of thinking).

Preparation

• The preparation phase is about developing a plan for the future that can include setting goals and building a support network.
• In this phase you get an idea of your addiction, your impact on your life and your environment and think about how you want to continue with the treatment. If your drug or alcohol addiction has been affecting your daily life for some time (or not), it can be helpful to think about what these problems might look like in the future if you are not being treated.

At this point, it is important that you are aware of which type of treatment is best for you 

– and whether or not from others that belong to your support network (e.g. from family members), make changes in lifestyle or adjustments. 

This also includes finding out how much money you need to spend on treatment per month/year and when exactly the treatment should begin (i.e. after the detoxification/drawal symptoms have subsided).

Action

The action phase is the longest of the phases in which you are working to overcome your addiction. In this phase they do the work.

They make changes in their lives and try to overcome their addiction. During this time, you may also find that your desire to consume substances is waning because you learn new skills and think differently about yourself.

Maintenance

The conservation phase is the longest of all four phases and usually lasts years or even decades. 

This is about preventing a relapse by maintaining a healthy, sober lifestyle (especially if you are in the early stages of recovery). 

It is also important that you maintain a healthy relationship with yourself, your friends and your family, as well as with others who support you.

Some tips to stay abstinent are:

• Avoiding triggers – people or places where you have used drugs or alcohol in the past
• Do new activities that have nothing to do with drug abuse/addiction (e.g. workout in the gym)
• Make sure you get enough sleep every night so that your body can heal naturally.

relapse

A relapse is a common problem for many recovering addicts. 

It is important to understand what a relapse means, why it occurs and how you can prevent relapse or effectively handle it when you experience a relapse.

• What is a relapse? There is a relapse when someone abstinent from the drug of their choice returns to drug use for any amount of time. A relapse does not mean that the person in question is consuming their drug again on a daily basis; Often, people who have relapsed take the drug once or twice before stopping. This also does not mean that someone will continue consumption after a relapse; After a relapse, some people retreat to receive additional support, and others continue to work on their recovery without further incident.
• What causes a relapse? The exact cause of a relapse is still unclear; However, there are several factors that can help a person suffer a relapse: emotional stress factors (e.g., an argument), negative pressure from peers and contact with social situations where substances are available (e.g. at parties). In addition, people who start drinking again after they left off are more vulnerable than people who did not stop drinking but never had addiction problems in the past – this phenomenon is affected by psychologists who Alcoholism Investigate over time, referred to as “telescoping”. How should I react when I experience an addiction? If you find that you return to your substance or substances after working hard to become sober – whether it is Drugs like alcohol or illegal Substances like cocaine acts – don’t panic! Instead:

Take away: addiction is a process that can be divided into individual steps

Addiction is a process. It can be divided into steps, each of which includes its own phases of change. These are:

• Pre-Contemplation – You don’t even think about changing your behavior or lifestyle.
• Contemplation – You are thinking about how things might change, but you’re not ready to do anything or change your life.
• Preparation – You have decided to change something and plan it.
• Action – You have put your plan into action and are actively working on sober or clean of drugs or alcohol to become.
• Maintain – You live an active, sober lifestyle with the support of friends and family
• Relapse prevention: If you eventually suffer a relapse, this stage is about learning from this experience so it doesn’t happen again.

Conclusion

If you know someone who is struggling with a drug abuse problem, it is important that you take the stages of change in recovery from the addiction understand. 

This way you can better prepare for all situations and problems that can arise. First and foremost, you should never urge anyone to be treated for their psychological problems or drug abuse. 

This can be harmful because it can lead to the person breaking off the treatment completely – so it is important to let them decide for themselves what to do with their lives.. 

If you found this article useful, please leave us a comment or contact us at in**@***********en.de or call +(31) 970-05034498 if you need more information on recovery from the addiction.