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The four stages of recovery
Alcohol and drug addiction…
Health Facts
By Rehanna Ramsay
Kaieteur News – Recovery from alcohol or drug addiction is possible. It requires effort, time, willpower, and support. When a person decides on a professional alcohol and drug treatment programme, the journey takes four distinct stages of rehab recovery to a healthy and sober lifestyle.
The four stages are: treatment initiation, early abstinence, maintaining abstinence, and advanced recovery. These stages were developed by local drug treatment programme, the Phoenix Recovery Project Inc.
The project located in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara has been offering rehabilitative and counselling services for the past 20 years.
Samantha Young, the co-founder and facilitator of the programme, shared how the Phoenix Recovery Project helps offers recovering addicts a safe space to heal by reintroducing them to the various components of spiritual, physical, and mental wellness.
For phase one of the programme at Phoenix, clients are required to stay at the centre to undergo six to 12 months of primary care treatment.
Primary care involves group or individual workshops on self-esteem, stress management, communication, human sexuality, assertiveness training and relapse prevention, among other programmes. But like it is with most addicts, the phoenix project recognises the four main stages of recovery.
For one, it is said that in the early hours and days of rehab, a person probably will have some ambivalent feelings about giving up the drug of choice permanently, and he/she may think that substance abuse problem is not as bad.
But counsellors warn that ambivalence and denial can be your worst enemies in the first days of your recovery.
For recovery to be successful, they say abstinence must be the goal.
And while it is common that early abstinence from alcohol is significantly associated with positive treatment outcomes, the toughest stage to cope with comes a little later and it is associated with continued withdrawal symptoms, (shaking, hallucinations, nauseous feelings, physical cravings, and mental struggles) which can trigger a relapse.
This point in the treatment should include learning about the physical and psychological aspects of withdrawal, learning to identify alcohol drug use triggers, and learning how to handle cravings without drinking or using. To help their clients cope, for instance, the Phoenix project has several activities in its programme. A key component that allows recovering addicts to get a chance to reconnect with their spiritual beliefs whether it is Christianity, Hinduism, or Islam.
Additionally, it is recommended that the recovering addicts get an individualised treatment that must be crafted by a substance abuse counsellor.
Finding alternative behaviours to engage in rather than turning to destructive habits is also essential for participating in self-help groups that offer support and information, build healthy relationships, and taking up healthy habits like exercising regularly. To maintain abstinence or follow-up counselling phase of the rehab programme is necessary. This is usually done on an outpatient basis. One focus of this stage of rehab is obviously to maintain abstinence by avoiding a relapse. These persons are also encouraged to recognise environmental triggers that lead to cravings, including people, places, and things, and stay away from such. At this stage, recovering addicts should learn about the warning signs and the steps to avoid a relapse.
To live a truly sober lifestyle, a former substance abuser must engage in continuous follow-up treatment up until approximately five years of abstinence.
When he/she reaches the fourth and final stage of rehab, it is deemed advanced recovery. It is at this point that a person has to take all the tools and skills that he or she learned during rehab counselling and put them to use to live a fulfilling life.
Learning to implement these strategies will not only help a person remain sober, but it will also allow them to have the skills to become a healthier, a better spouse and parent, a productive member of society, and a good neighbour and citizen. Recovery is much more than merely staying sober though. It’s learning to live a happier and healthier life!
If you or anyone would like to know more about the alcohol and drug rehab available locally, you can reach out to the Phoenix Recovery Project on 220 6886 or 612-8486.
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