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The Stages of Sober Recovery

4 Stages of Recovery

Stage #1:  Realizing You Have an Addiction and Seeking Treatment

When you realize you have an addiction to drugs or alcohol and begin seeking professional help, you are taking the first step on your road to the stages of sober recovery. Maybe you decided to enter rehab on your own because you are tired of living your life with drugs or alcohol controlling it. Or maybe a loved one may have persisted that you seek help because of the negative effects addiction is having on you and those who love you.

It is normal to experience doubts about your addiction during the first few days in rehab. These thoughts can cause you to begin doubting your addiction. This is an extremely dangerous aspect of the first stage of recovery. You must be able to get past this stage of denial to continue down the path to recovery. At Awakenings for Women we realize the hurdles that you have to go over when trying to beat an addiction. This is why we want to offer you or your family a customized plan that will fit your needs for a complete sober recovery.

Stage #2:  Making a Commitment to Yourself

You have to be committed to remaining sober. This stage is considered as ‘early abstinence.’ During this stage, you remain committed to staying clean and continue your treatment in rehab. It is thought that this stage is the most difficult because you will probably be experiencing various withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms may include psychological and physical cravings, and triggers could tempt you to relapse, returning to your substance-addicted life.

During stage two, you will be given the tools you need to remain sober by combating these cravings. These methods and skills will help you tremendously down your road to recovery and beyond. Once you have been clean and sober for a total of 90 days, you will move on to stage three.

Stage #3:  Staying Sober, Maintaining Abstinence and Continuing Your Treatment

Many times, at this stage of recovery you will have left rehab and just be attending group meetings in your area. The essential part of this stage is remaining clean and sober, and preventing any kind of relapse from occurring.

While you may have made it through all the physical cravings associated with the substance you were addicted to, you could still experience situations that trigger your mental cravings for the drug/alcohol. You will need to learn what the triggers are that make you want to return to using drugs and/or alcohol. Knowing your triggers is crucial to your overall recovery.

When preparing you for the third stage of recovery, you may learn about relapse and the warning signs to watch out for. You need to maintain a healthy lifestyle while developing healthy relationships.

Stage #4:  Remaining Clean and Sober

After remaining clean for five years, you have completed the fourth stage of substance abuse recovery. The skills you learned during rehab will help you remain sober indefinitely. Once your body and brain are used to being without the alcohol and drugs it previously relied upon, you will no longer suffer from addiction to a substance. You will feel better and instead of feeling overwhelmed, you will only worry about real problems, as they arise, not about things that do not happen. This helps your sober life by allowing you to develop more confidence, stronger relationships and is ultimately a healthier, more satisfying and fulfilling life.

The positive aspects that you can expect to experience once you rid yourself of drugs and alcohol include:

  • Getting along better with people who are close to you;
  • Having a better understanding as to what issues belong to you and which issues belong to someone else;
  • Allowing you to enjoy yourself more often
  • Being more open and honest.

Your Long-Term Recovery Plan Should Be Addressed

Your plan needs to involve:

  • Improving your relationships with your loved ones.
  • Setting new goals for yourself and taking the steps to reach them.
  • Learning how to manage your time wisely.
  • Learning more ways to handle various situations without using substances.
  • Identifying what your triggers and always deal with them.

Awakenings for Women Can Help

While it is true that not everyone suffering with an addiction to substances/alcohol will complete all the stages of recovery without a relapse, it can be done. The chances of this being done successfully greatly increases once the individual has entered a treatment facility such as Awakenings for Women. Please don’t hesitate to start the healing process immediately; contact us now.