Recovery from addiction can be difficult. One mistake that people make is to think that recovery from addiction is a one-time event that happens when the addicted person stops the use of drugs or alcohol. This is not the case, and recovery is an ongoing process rather than an event that begins when a person decides to stop the use of the substance of choice. Recovery is about change as well as growth.
How many stages of addiction recovery are there?
The stages of recovery begin with the addicted person accepting that they have a problem and they need help overcoming the addiction. The addict must also be willing to change. The person should investigate the recovery options before taking action. In fact, to learn more about the stages of recovery from any sort of addiction, you can contact a drug rehab program for addiction recovery in Waco, Texas. All of the stages of addiction recovery are as follows:
Initiating Treatment Stage
At this stage, the addicted person seeks help from an addiction recovery center. Whether the addict does so voluntarily or is forced by a loved one/circumstances into the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center does not matter. The recovery process begins with initiating treatment. In the early days of treatment, the addicted person may experience ambivalent feelings about giving up alcohol or drugs. It is normal for you to feel as if substance abuse is not as bad as it seems. But you must be aware that denial and ambivalence are the biggest hurdles at this stage of recovery.
Early Abstinence Stage
After making a commitment to stop substance abuse, you get into a drug and alcohol treatment center. This stage is known as “early abstinence.” It can be a difficult stage as you have to deal with withdrawal symptoms, psychological dependence, physical cravings, and many other triggers that can cause relapse. Here the addiction therapist will train you on coping skills that you need to live a sober lifestyle.
Maintaining Abstinence Stage
After you have stayed in a residential drug rehab center for a period of 90 days or more if needed, you move to the third stage that is known as maintaining abstinence. At this stage, you get into continuing or follow-up counseling, but you get counseling on an outpatient basis. The risk of relapse is always present, and it is a serious concern. If relapse occurs, it will ruin every bit of your effort that you have made so far. Therefore, at this stage, the experts focus on preventing relapse. In this regard, you are taught the warning signs as well as the steps that can cause a relapse. You learn how to put into practice the skills to cope with managing stress, anger, healthy relationship, money, and employment issues.
Advanced Recovery Stage
This stage starts after around five or more years of being sober. In this final stage, you put all the skills and tools that you learn during your drug treatment program into practice to live a lifestyle that is totally sober.