Addiction can tear a person and their family apart if not addressed in a timely manner. Fortunately, anyone can overcome addiction with a little bit of help. Today, we are sharing with you the addiction recovery process and how you can take the first steps to a sober life.
The addiction recovery process typically has five stages of development that each individual must pass through to achieve sober living, including pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
Pre-contemplation is when an individual begins to recognize that they are enduring an addiction but aren’t quite ready to approach treatment. Defensiveness, justification, and lack of insight into the adverse effects of their drug or alcohol abuse dominate their behaviors. They may have misgivings, misunderstandings, or disappointment in past treatment failures.
Contemplation is when an individual crosses over from recognition of the problem into wanting to take action to fix it. They recognize the benefits of sober living and are more open to treatment options. At this stage, it is crucial to encourage oneself or a loved one to continue on to the next step while avoiding topics of blame, judgement, and accusations to prevent a backsliding effect. For resources on treatment, please review SAMHSA’s National Helpline.
In the preparation stage, individuals often start taking action to approach a sober life without seeking treatment. They may try joining a gym, seeing a therapist, or another positive life action. Since the individual hasn’t approached addiction recovery treatment yet, it is common for them to jump and repeat stages one through three repeatedly until they move on to stage four.
The action stage of the addiction recovery process is when an individual finally commits to making a change. During this stage, it is critical for the individual to have guidance from counselors and doctors. Medications and devices can help with treating withdrawal, staying in treatment, and preventing relapse. Additional support, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, contingency management, motivational enhancement therapy, family therapy, and 12-step facilitation, will help the individual through stage four, deal with stressful situations, and avoid getting tripped by triggers. By using these tools and resources, recovering addicts remain in treatment longer and have more success.
The last stage of the addiction recovery process is both rewarding and challenging; it is here that the individual works hard to prevent relapse and forge a solid and healthy sober life. Reassuming one’s life soon after treatment can be daunting, which is why joining a sober living community can be of great assistance. With a sober living community, participants build healthy living habits, foster meaningful relationships with like-minded individuals, learn how to integrate back into society substance-free, and have all the guidance and support they need to solidify this change.
If you are going through the addiction recovery process and are actively looking for a sober living community to provide you with the support you need, reach out to Turning Point Recovery Network today.