Getting through your stages of change

There are six stages of change:

1. Precontemplation- the person does not have enough desire or acknowledge the need for change.

2. Contemplation- the person is motivated to change for any time between 2 weeks to 12 months.

3. Determination- the person is seriously committed to change for any time between 2 hours to 2 months.

4. Action- change begins to happen either in a moment's time or in a series of planned steps.

5. Maintenance- requires specific strategies to avoid returning to a previous state and can last 6 to 12 months.

6. Termination- either involves a return to any pre-action state or the person has no desire or risk of relapse.

Resources may change over time and can fluctuate during the different stages of change. I am here to help those who have reached the action stage of recovery and need support to continue their sobriety. The premise is that if the resources the person has available are inadequate then the trials and hassles faced in everyday life may increase the person's risk of relapse.

Although studies indicate that the maintenance stage of recovery lasts 6 to 12 months, other studies suggest that a person must sustain their recovery for at least 3 years before the risk of relapse drops below 15 percent. The hope is that the enhancement of a person's resources can provide stress management and decrease the risk of relapse. It has already been shown in some studies that having personal resources available can decrease Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) episodes. It is suspected that resilience is enhanced through the accrual of personal resources so that an individual can adequately cope with the biological and psychological stress involved in a new life without substance misuse.