The Stages of Change Model of Overcoming Addiction

Friends or relatives that the person invites to help them can guide their plan. Setting realistic timelines and achievable goals are crucial to the success of the project. It can be confusing to watch an addict make choices that seem self-destructive, continuing in 11 ways to curb your drinking patterns of behavior despite major consequences, unwilling to stop and make a significant change in their lives. This means that a person will have new techniques for managing stress and anxiety or any triggers before immediately falling backwards into relapse.

In the preparation stage, acknowledging that stress is a key factor in addictive behavior and identifying ways to manage that is then deployed during the action stage. While they are represented in a particular sequence, it’s not uncommon for people in recovery to jump to different stages out of order. It won’t just be a case of halting the destructive behavior; change will be apparent in multiple aspects of their lifestyle. Self-care and self-understanding are both present in this treatment stage, but counseling is required to keep them on the right path.

The Four Stages of Change

Their model seeks to understand resistance to behavior change in many areas, ranging from eating habits to addictions. Our mission is to provide compassionate care, combined with evidence-based treatment therapies for people struggling with addiction and mental health. Oro Recovery provides compassionate care, combined with evidence-based treatment therapies for people struggling with addiction and mental health.

New practices help keep them focused and replace self-destructive behavior, leading to relapse in the next phase. The education within this stage includes more than just coping skills for behaviors, but also dietary and fitness regimens that benefit them. When someone is in pre-contemplation, they’re not concerned about seeking help for their disorder. Behaviors in this stage usually involve the person becoming defensive if rehab is mentioned.

Maintenance

Instead of fearing the possibility of relapse and descending into a spiral of shame if it happens, instead recognize relapse as part of the process of recovery. At the same time, know that this stage is optional – it does not need to be part of the process if action is maintained through commitment to the maintenance stage. Like the other stages, the action stage can occur in small bits as a person works on their behavior and healing.

This is why it is important to learn new ways of coping with stress during the action stage so that alternative strategies will be available to you during the maintenance stage. People in the precontemplation stage typically do not consider their behavior to be a problem. This may be because they have not yet experienced any negative consequences of their behavior, or it may be a result of denial about the negativity or severity of the consequences they have experienced.

Identifying and developing effective ways of coping with stress are crucial during the action stage. This will allow you to effectively move on to the maintenance stage without experiencing the relapse stage. But with good preparation, it can also be an exciting time that gives way to new options. At that time, technology wasn’t so advanced, and the scientist had no way of studying the effect of drugs to the brain and surmise that addiction is incurable.

This mindset is usually backed up by the lack of repercussions for their behavior. For loved ones who have someone in this stage, the aim is to get them to the next step. Worksheet as an educational tool to help you teach clients about the recovery process. This printout summarizes each of the stages with easy-to-understand language. Changing behavior can be difficult for almost anyone, especially those trying to overcome addiction. Having an awareness of the stages one must pass through on the road to change can make it easier to attain their goals.

All the attachments a person has had to substances, alcohol, or both, get severed and dissolve. Mood-altering substances can no longer enslave a person at this level of recovery. At this stage, a person is abstinent and apathetic about old drinking habits or drug-taking. The maintenance stage heralds the sustainment of sobriety-promoting plans enacted in stage four. Without the ability to step back and gain perspective on our progress accompanied by an honest will to rectify any errors as they arise, we ultimately risk a return to our old ways of behaving.

Recovery Support

Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Most people will be the effects of combining alcohol with other drugs quick to throw out all the junk food in the fridge, immediately enroll in a two-year gym membership, and begin eating only greens. It is no longer a question of I don’t want to change, or I can’t change and more an I am changing.

From the JourneyPure team where we get to explore a wide variety of substance abuse- and mental health-related topics. Stress can arise in this stage, highlighting the importance of the stress management components of the action stage. Other challenges come when you’ve had a period of abstinence or moderation of behaviors, as this can put your guard down and lead you to reduce supportive behaviors. You may begin minimizing the consequences, as the high of the early parts of the action stage has worn off. Maintaining the behaviors committed to in the action stage is essential for staying sober and committed to recovery without relapse.

It is an ongoing process that takes nothing less than unflappable courage to obtain the ultimate reward – sobriety. You can think of it just like the start of anything – nobody is ever an expert right out of the gate. Keep in mind that plans for this kind of change do not have to be perfect. Waiting complacently for a supposedly perfect, grand opportunity to finally make all these changes will amount to nothing more than wasted time.

The Stages of Change Model in Addiction Recovery

Precontemplation is the first stage in the stages of change model of addiction and behavior change. Theoretically, in this stage, the addict overcomes their addictive behavior and completely stops abusing drugs. The individual no longer craves drugs and as such relapsing is close to impossible. The last phase for recovery from alcoholism or substance use disorder is “termination.” Here, all the stages culminate.

They may be open to learning about different strategies for controlling or quitting the addictive behavior, without committing to a specific approach or even promising to make a change. When people are in the precontemplation stage, they are often not very interested in hearing about negative consequences or advice to quit their addiction. 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 alcohol use disorder vs alcoholism 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. Such individuals are still not ready to embark on the traditional addiction recovery treatment programs which advocate for immediate change. Others will see them resistant, unmotivated, or not ready for change, but the truth is that traditional addiction treatment programs were not designed to help such individuals.

At its heart, the model of stages of change in addiction seeks to explain overcoming substance dependence through motivation. This motivation comes from within (self-impetus) or from an external source . When relapse occurs, it can propel you back into the precontemplation or contemplation stage of your process of change. To leverage relapse to benefit your recovery process, use the experience to solidify your understanding of what recovery means and your commitment to the process of change you’d like to make. The stages of addiction recovery aren’t necessarily linear, and people don’t stay in them for a set amount of time.

During the maintenance stage, the individual is working hard to prevent addiction recovery relapse. They’re also keeping up the lifestyle changes they made, like getting regular exercise, recreational activities, staying sober, paying attention to sleep hygiene and attending support groups. They don’t feel the urge to relapse as frequently as people in the action stage, so their confidence grows and they truly believe in their ability to maintain sobriety long term. They may start by contacting their insurance company and rehab centers and discussing long-term treatment options with family and employers. Some descriptions of his model also term this phase relapse since it’s most likely to happen at this point.

The Stages of Change is a Behavioral Model

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of Sober Recovery’s”Terms of Use”,”Privacy Policy”,”Cookie Policy”, and”Health Disclaimer”. The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. Those who have become independent from a substance must continue to recognize their potential for relapse, and yet always choose otherwise. It is perfectly normal and healthy to fear a relapse because losing the life you have regained to let yourself once again be controlled by a substance is indeed tragic. And though this constant vigilance may seem like a daunting task, over time, overcoming challenges becomes increasingly natural and much more enjoyable.

Plus, there are certain principles that counselors and therapists on rehab programs can use to guide clients through the recovery process. Therefore, the “maintenance” stage involves developing an effective strategy to prevent relapses and devise a plan to support the recovery afterward. Many people learn and eventually master a few practical coping skills to help reduce the likelihood of relapsing.

The maintenance stage of the transtheoretical model of change is concerned with continuing to achieve the progress that began in the action stage. For people with addictions, this means upholding the intentions made during the preparation stage and the behaviors introduced in the action stage. The preparation stage of the stages of change model means a person has moved forward to planning and preparing for carrying out changes they learned about in the contemplation stage. Someone at the contemplation stage is generally more open to receiving information about the possible consequences of their addictive behavior.

• In that span of time, tens of millions of dollars in grants and well over 100,000 research participants have worked toward testing and improving the model.
• The maintenance stage heralds the sustainment of sobriety-promoting plans enacted in stage four.
• At the termination stage, a person is more or less finished with getting over substance use disorder.
• At this stage, they start addressing the behaviors and motivations that led them to use the substance in the first place.

You’ll convince yourself that it’s only this one time while you order an All-American burger from the take out place just around the corner. That first delicious bite will mark the death of your short-lived Healthy Life. You will come home from a bad day at work/school, and you won’t feel like cooking or even eating greens.