Are you trying hard to quit some addiction and searching for easy and effective stages of change?
Well, Changing a habit is a real challenge because it needs your full mental focus. Addiction is extra challenging. I am sure you tried your best in the past.
However, failing doesn’t mean you can’t change it. You simply need to understand that addiction took a long time to control your life.
Therefore, Changing it also need some extra efforts and times. However, the good news is that positive energies take a little less time to work.
Right knowledge helps a person to achieve any goal of life. so, You just need to go through different phases of change.
There are a few simple stages that help in overcoming addiction. If you can follow the steps, It’s possible to get rid of any addiction quickly and rapidly.
Let’s explore the stages of change to overcome any addiction.
1- The Precontemplation Stage
Precontemplation is the initial and most crucial step of stages of change in any addiction. At this stage, people consider their behavior as a problem.
Well, Thinking in that way I won’t say it is entirely wrong. It has been noticed that when people are at this stage, they don’t like listening to any negative thing about their addiction.
Most importantly, They are not at all interested in any help or guidance to quit their addiction.
Therefore, It’s good that you have the realization that it’s not right for you. This awareness is essential for change.
However, please Don’t get stuck to that problem word, move one to the next step to remove that problem permanently.
At this stage, you may feel that your behavior as a relaxing and pleasant experience. However, negative results will eventually engage you in addictive behaviors.
Remember, The negative consequences drive people into the “contemplation” stage.
2- Contemplation- Awareness
Contemplation or Awareness is the second important step in stages of change. The main aim of this stage to reflect and think about the situation very intensely.
If you are genuinely willing to quit the addiction, you must think deeply about it. Think about the current situation.
For example, future consequences, overcoming your addiction, and of course, life without any addiction.
The contemplation stage is mainly about collecting all the information about the possible results of your behavior.
You may like to skip this stage, but it’s essential to understand the psychology of an addictive person. If you are reading this article to help somebody close to you, then also read and follow all the stages.
Most importantly, Knowing the stages profoundly helps you to self-control in the future when addiction pulls you towards it.
The Contemplators stage is a practical and motivational approach to supporting change. Specifically, this stage helps in deciding to change addictive behavior.
3- Preparation- Training
The preparation stage is the essential and actionable step of stages of change. At this stage, a person needs to take the next step and start preparing the ideas for real transformation.
This step is extra valuable as preparation in the right direction always leads to success.
Here is some guidance for planning and preparing stage. Make a written list of these.
What kind of change do you want: Do you plan to cut down, decrease, or quit altogether?
How to start the changes: for example, If you want to quit smoking Start with decreasing the numbers.
Getting the necessary support: Its important to have essential supports,
Getting rid of triggers: Triggers are reminders of your addiction which can cause cravings and can pull you to your addictive behavior.
Setting support in place: Support means you can inform your friends or family member to help in overcoming addiction.
You can take help from a counselor or social worker. They can help you with other preparations too.
4- Action/Willpower/ make a move
The action stage is the real step of stages of change. This is the stage that brings the real difference in people s life.
However, its most stressful and hard stage Compared to other stages.
At the same time, Proper preparation can make it an exciting experience that opens a new way to a better life. You can start by detoxing your body at home Or, you can get help from any treatment center. Trained experts in the center will support you through the early phases of quitting an addiction.
You can add some mental exercises like meditation that will help overcome stress.
You can choose any way according to your goals which you decided in the previous stage.
The action stage can look small and gradual steps, but its a life-changing. Sometimes, You may feel isolated and empty without your addiction.
However, if you adopt some other habit like reading books or simply walking into the garden, you will feel fresh and different.
5- Maintenance
The maintenance step of the stages of change involves maintaining to continue with what you started in the action stage.
In order to achieve your desire goal, you must continue to act.
This stage is most challenging after a while because the focus on reaching the goal loses its intensity.
People become satisfied at this point.
They start thinking that a small lapse will not affect much. That’s the biggest mistake you will do.
It also becomes complicated when you feel stress or anxiety, and it triggers your old behavior pattern.
For this purpose, it is essential to learn new ways of releasing stress during the action stage. The alternative is helpful in this stage. Otherwise, you will lose your control which is not good at this point.
Above all, overcoming addiction is the most rewarding task in someone’s life. As you know, addiction does nothing but make you miserable and sick.
Therefore, it’s essential to continue with the action stage.
6- Termination/ Relapse
Termination is the ultimate goal for the stages of change. At this stage, the person with an addiction no longer feels the desire to use it.
You will feel the confidence to live a healthy and happy life without any addiction. You will genuinely succeed in overcoming addiction and fear relapse less and less.
The stages of overcoming addiction through these steps can seem daunting. However, Knowing what you are going to experience in the future will give you the courage to continue.
While you are deciding how you are going to succeed on this recovery journey, never feel alone. Remember, some people are always ready to help you. You just need to take the first step and ask for support.
Treatment in the right direction that can prepare you to walk through all of these stages of change.
Most importantly, It will take you on your way to living an addiction-free, happy, and successful life.
These are the 6 stages of change to achieve any goal in life. If you follow every step correctly, you will be unstoppable.
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Stay Healthy, Stay Blessed
Thank you
Great post