The 4 Stages of Alcohol and Drug Rehab Recovery

Everyone’s needs are different, so it’s important that you find a program that feels right to you. Any alcohol addiction treatment program should be customized to your unique problems and situation. In the pre-contemplative stage, an individual has begun to experience struggle and hardship due to their addiction. This could include deteriorated health, injured relationships with loved ones, economic hardship, criminal charges, and many other negative results of addiction.

It’s unlikely that a person in this stage would even be interested in information about alcoholism. Many people are surprised to learn that binge drinkers can experience withdrawal symptoms. Regardless of the frequency of alcohol intake, if an individual is experiencing some or most of these alcohol withdrawal symptoms, they may have alcohol dependence. If this is the case, entering a detox and recovery program would be in their best interest.

Stages of Alcohol and Drug Rehab Recovery

Once an individual reaches this stage, the distress caused by their addiction has made them realize that they have a problem even though they haven’t yet taken action. In the contemplative stage, an individual may be considering their options and can often feel hopeless. During this stage many struggle with seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Alcohol and other mental health disorders share a bidirectional relationship. Alcohol can make other conditions emerge or become worse; having another condition can make alcohol use disorders worse as people drink to cope with their mental health issues. Responsible for over 5% of all deaths, alcohol abuse is the fourth leading cause of preventable death worldwide.

Is alcohol use disorder a disease?

As you seek help for alcohol addiction, it’s also important to get treatment for any other psychological issues you’re experiencing. Your best chance of recovery is by getting combined mental health and addiction treatment from the same treatment provider or team. This is the moment in the 6 stages of change in recovery that you stop using. The length of care is dependent on the changes that need to be made. In these instances, you have to treat and stabilize both conditions to move through the changes in recovery. More frequently the action stage is completed within a few months.

• If you or a loved one struggles with alcohol addiction, help is available.
• Joining a self-help group has been shown to significantly increase the chances of long-term recovery.
• If you started in a residential treatment program, you will now move to the continuing or follow-up counseling phase of your rehab program on an outpatient basis.
• Located in Southern California, RMR has trained professionals with years of experience waiting to start your journey to sobriety today.
• Some clinicians do not include this stage in the TTM model, particularly when applied to substance abuse.

A person only needs two of these signs and symptoms to receive an alcohol use disorder diagnosis. Understanding alcohol use and seeking available resources are instrumental ways to diminish the influence of alcohol. The first few weeks after detox has been completed are also critical. So, the person must formulate a plan of how they will abstain from alcohol during this crucial time.

Choosing an Alcohol Rehab Treatment Program

When individuals exhibit poor self-care and live in emotional relapse long enough, eventually they start to feel uncomfortable in their own skin. As their tension builds, they start to think about using just to escape. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Ambivalence and denial can be your worst enemies in the first days of your recovery. John’s key responsibilities include maintaining the day-to-day operations from both a clinical and housing perspective.

• That our lives will be over as we know it and we’ll never have fun again.
• They are sometimes reluctant to even mention thoughts of using because they are so embarrassed by them.
• The symptoms listed above may be a sign of a severe form of alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremens, or DTs.
• For some, maintenance may also include taking prescription drugs that will prevent their body from going into withdrawals.

The substance has significant power to rewire the brain and create a physical dependence, leading to severe withdrawal symptoms when alcohol use is stopped. Late-stage, or end-stage alcoholism, is a full-blown addiction to alcohol, often with damaging physical and mental health effects. Alcohol detox and treatment are nearly always necessary at this stage. Recovering from alcohol addiction or heavy drinking is not a quick and easy process.

Rather than seeing the need for change as a negative, they are encouraged to see recovery as an opportunity for change. If they make the necessary changes, they can go forward and be happier than they were before. It forces people to reevaluate their lives and make changes that non-addicts don’t have to make. Probably the most important thing to understand about post-acute withdrawal is its prolonged duration, which can last up to 2 years [1,20].

Fighting back and striving to find sustainable recovery starts with comprehensive addiction care focused on you. Each patient must have an individualized treatment plan that considers their own unique background, history, and goals. Recovery from alcohol addiction involves physical recovery, but it also must address any underlying emotional and mental health issues, such as PTSD.

A better bet is to use this time to develop a detailed action plan and identify strategies that will help them conquer their alcohol addiction. This might include examining the sort of lifestyle changes they’ll need to make or researching stages of getting sober types of treatment and treatment facilities. This is a good time for setting goals — an activity that helps to strengthen their commitment to change. Even when someone has reached maintenance, it doesn’t mean they’re cured of addiction.

Prolonged abstinence along with healthy eating and exercise during this stage can also allow people to begin recovery from liver damage. Individuals may waffle back and forth between wanting and not wanting to change. They may decide, for instance, that they’re going to seek treatment sometime in the next six months but won’t set a definite date. At this stage, defense mechanisms are in high gear, and people are reluctant to even acknowledge they have a problem.