Being an insidious illness, addiction is capable of taking hold faster or it can develop gradually after abusing a drug for a long time. In some cases, a person becomes an addict after using a drug for the first time. Addicted individuals share some similarities. However, every case has unique psychological, social, and biological factors that influence it. These can include gender, age, abused substance, family history, and past drug use.
Since addiction has highly personal qualities, no two addicts will follow a similar recovery path. For instance, one person may need inpatient care, outpatient treatment, and therapy for many years to recover. Another person may need counseling and medication to recover from addiction. But, though there are many factors and influences, a recovering addict passes through the same stages and phases as they walk from addiction depth to freedom and eventual long-term abstinence.
Here are the five major stages of the addiction recovery process.
Early Acknowledgement and Awareness
For a person to search for ‘one-stop drug rehab locator — find drug rehabs’ online, they must know and acknowledge their addiction problem. Rehab is a facility where people undergo treatment and counseling for drug addiction. This is the place where people get the help they need to overcome the addiction problem.
For a person to decide to search for a rehab facility, they must have developed an awareness of their problem. This awareness can develop after having conversations with co-workers, friends, or family members. It can also be due to legal, work, financial, and health problems caused by addiction.
While the addict could still be engaging in the usual addictive behaviors or has not made measurable progress in the recovery process, this is a critical stage. That’s because it paves the way for their recovery process. Transitioning from awareness to acknowledging that they need to take action in solving the problem is the most important thing at this stage.
Research indicates that denial is very common during recovery. Therefore, shifting from denial to acknowledgment of the problem and willing to change is an essential step of the recovery process.
Consideration
Shifting from awareness to taking action is the second stage in the process of recovering from drug addiction. Here, the addict is willing and prepared to take a step towards their recovery. This occurs when a person decides to learn about their addiction and its effects on their life, as well as, the lives of their loved ones.
This consideration is very important because it means that an addict has started looking beyond themselves. That way, they can understand the negative effects of their behavior and choices on their family members, friends, and colleagues at work.
When a person takes a step and starts to learn about their illness and how it affects others, they transition from the awareness stage to action. This can happen even before a person starts to search for ‘drug rehab near me’ online. However, a person won’t start pursuing recovery yet. But, this is a move in the right direction because they will gain invaluable insights and information by doing this.
Recovery Exploration
When an addict moves past denial, they become motivated to beat addiction. As such, they can start taking several steps that will help achieve this goal. These can include exploring the abstinence and moderation concepts. Some people say that recovery begins at the exploratory stage.
At this stage, an addict can start to learn about the addiction recovery process. They may also start learning what a sober life entails. An addict can consult family members or friends that may have gone through the same experiences. They can also start searching for phrases like ‘drug rehab centers near me’ online to learn more about treatment facilities.
In addition to exploring the available treatment options, this is the stage where some people decide to enter a treatment program.
Early Recovery
This is a stage of significant risk and importance. Here, an addict has stopped abusing drugs or addictive substances. However, they have also started to learn how to achieve long-term sobriety. On the other hand, early recovery is a time when an addict is more vulnerable. That’s because they have to abandon activities, behaviors, and people that may have played different roles in their life. They also have to establish a foundation for a drug-free life.
Drug withdrawal syndromes can also lead to relapse. That’s because some drugs have life-threatening syndromes which are common during this stage. At this stage, a recovering addict can slip back to their addictive life and start abusing drugs again. This can be problematic because a person may not have the necessary skills and knowledge that can help them prevent backsliding. Thus, a recovering addict can backslide into a full-blown addiction if not careful.
As such, some of the most important things to do at this stage is to learn and develop healthy habits, coping skills, and rebuild damaged relationships. These can help a recovering addict avoid a relapse by avoiding triggers and using coping skills to overcome the temptation to use addictive substances again.
Active Recovery and Maintaining Sobriety
The recovery process does not start when a person searches for phrases like ‘drug rehabs near me’ online. And it does not end when a person stops using addictive substances. Recovery is a long process that involves a great deal of hard work. By the time a person reaches this stage, they have made significant progress. They have also learned about addiction and the need to work towards guarding themselves against relapse.
Maintaining sobriety requires a person to monitor their behaviors and thoughts actively. They have to learn and practice coping skills, establish a support system, and always remain alert to temptations to abuse addictive substances and triggers. Recovering from drug addiction is not an easy process. But, reaching this stage means that a person has started to lead a life that was scarcely imagined during active addiction.
The Bottom Line
Recovering from drug addiction is not just about overcoming the urge to use addictive substances. It’s a complete body, mind, and spirit transformation. Some people may go through the recovery process with support from family and friends. However, most addicts have to search for ‘inpatient drug rehab near me’, choose the facility to join, and learn coping skills. That’s the only way some individuals will beat addiction and maintain long-term sobriety.
