Drug Addiction - Three Stages of Recovery

When you think of recovery from drug addiction, a particular length of time has to be kept in mind. It is divided into three main stages, early recovery, middle recovery, and late recovery.

In every stage of recovery, certain lessons are needed to be learned and a number of tasks completed, before you move on to the next level. When we say that a person is an addict, we mean that the person has lost control over the use of drugs and alcohol. This has affected him in a negative way, mentally, physically, morally and disturbing all his relationships. Hence, when recovering from addiction, a person struggles to change these negative attitudes slowly, into positives, while admitting that there is a need to control the drug intake.

Three phases of drug addiction recovery are;

1. Early Recovery

The first task in the early recovery phase is to gain control over all drugs that alter the mood of the addict. Controlling drugs allow the brain to recover from the chemical changes that have permanently taken place, and help in going back to the normal state.

In this stage, a person should develop awareness about addiction, build a social support system, and work on a deterioration prevention plan. These activities will help the addict remain drug free. Recovery time depends from person to person. In some cases, the early recovery stage might last for up to two years.

2. Middle Recovery:

In the middle recovery stage, the person continues to sharpen his skills to stay away from drugs. Care and satisfaction of the person is a key in this stage. During the middle stage, lessons that a person may have forgotten or have never learned need to be discovered. Damages that were done previously are to be identified and repaired turning towards a balanced lifestyle.

In this stage, relationships that were negatively affected need to be recovered. If we need to test whether the person has learnt the lessons and achieved all the goals, we need to test for a balanced approach towards life and things around him. The middle recovery phase may last from six months to five years.

3. Late Stage Recovery:

Once the strength has been achieved, the last stage addresses some fundamental issues. These issues might be deep-rooted, perhaps going back to the childhood. They need to be analysed to find out what exactly caused the person to indulge in drugs. Normally, these issues include low self-esteem, desertion, and broken family. It is recommended to address all these issues once the person is fully recovered and make him accept the reality.

Progress in all the phases depends upon learning important lessons, rather than an accumulation of time of staying away from drugs. The last stage recovery is growth and maintenance phase that always goes on. It is highly recommended that constant education and awareness continues.