Stages of Recovery
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Join Date: Nov 2012
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Stages of Recovery
I posted this already in Windy's thread , but I thought I would post it as a stand-alone thread so people new here will be able to find it and hopefully, find it useful on their journey. Knowledge IS power !
Stage 1 of course is withdrawal/detox. This takes one to two weeks or more depending on many factors like how long you used and how much. The drug leaves your system gradually and you feel pretty ******, may have withdrawal symptoms.
Stage 2 is the honeymoon. You've been clean for a few weeks and you feel better because your brain is producing extra dopamine to make up for the absence of the drug. A lot of people feel, falsely, that they have kicked their addiction at this point. This can last from 2 to 4 months.
Stage 3 is the wall. This is where the dopamine surge ends and you kind of go back to feeling ******, maybe even as bad as when you first quit. You have good days and bad days but this is a common time to relapse because people want to feel good again. This is from 4-6 months.
Stage 4 is acceptance and a final normalizing of your brain chemistry getting you gradually back to where you were before you used. Just like everyone else you'll have ups and downs and hopefully by this point a good system in place to keep you on a healthy oath. This is from 6 months up to a year
Stage 5 is everything after and maintaining long term sobriety through a network of friends, resources, healthy habits etc.
Most addicts relapse at Stage 2/3. They feel good again and falsely believe they can moderate, so they light up to "reward" themselves. They tell themselves it's only going to be this one time, or maybe they are going to do it on weekends only. They tell themselves it's going to be different this time and they are not really addicts because they can "prove" to themselves that they are able to quit for one or two weeks.
Stage 1 of course is withdrawal/detox. This takes one to two weeks or more depending on many factors like how long you used and how much. The drug leaves your system gradually and you feel pretty ******, may have withdrawal symptoms.
Stage 2 is the honeymoon. You've been clean for a few weeks and you feel better because your brain is producing extra dopamine to make up for the absence of the drug. A lot of people feel, falsely, that they have kicked their addiction at this point. This can last from 2 to 4 months.
Stage 3 is the wall. This is where the dopamine surge ends and you kind of go back to feeling ******, maybe even as bad as when you first quit. You have good days and bad days but this is a common time to relapse because people want to feel good again. This is from 4-6 months.
Stage 4 is acceptance and a final normalizing of your brain chemistry getting you gradually back to where you were before you used. Just like everyone else you'll have ups and downs and hopefully by this point a good system in place to keep you on a healthy oath. This is from 6 months up to a year
Stage 5 is everything after and maintaining long term sobriety through a network of friends, resources, healthy habits etc.
Most addicts relapse at Stage 2/3. They feel good again and falsely believe they can moderate, so they light up to "reward" themselves. They tell themselves it's only going to be this one time, or maybe they are going to do it on weekends only. They tell themselves it's going to be different this time and they are not really addicts because they can "prove" to themselves that they are able to quit for one or two weeks.
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