In the United States, 14.4 million adults have alcohol use disorder (AUD). Considering this is almost 6% of the adult population, alcoholism is quite prevalent, meaning it has a profound effect on our society.
Perhaps you or someone you love is struggling with alcohol abuse. The good news is, with help, sobriety is definitely possible.
Are you interested in hearing more? Then here’s a quick guide to the stages of alcohol recovery.
The Alcohol Recovery Stages
There are 5 main stages of alcohol recovery. Let’s explore them below.
- Pre-Contemplation
Here, you might sense that your drinking habits might have detrimental effects on your life. Mainly, this stage is about awareness.
- Contemplation
Next, you might consider that you need help with your addiction. However, these plans are quite vague and usually in the distant future instead of immediate.
- Preparation
The preparation phase is the transition between contemplation and action. You might move up your vague and distant recovery plans to much sooner.
While individuals are usually still drinking at this point, they’re moving in the right direction to be proactive about sobriety. This means you might share these plans with trusted loved ones.
- Action
This is the big step you’ll finally take to actually carry out your recovery plans. For most, this entails professional alcohol treatment.
Detox is usually the first stage of alcohol treatment. Before you can truly start on recovery, you need to first rid your system of all substances.
Are you wondering how to detox from alcohol? Typically, for those who don’t have a serious dependence, they can either slowly taper or just quit cold turkey if they’re feeling up to it.
However, for those with serious alcohol abuse issues, we highly recommend getting assistance from a rehabilitation and detox center. The medical professionals there can monitor your entire detox process and even prescribe medications to make it safer and more comfortable.
Once you’ve detoxed, then you can move onto professional counseling to address your addiction issues at the root.
- Maintenance
Once you’re done with rehab, then you’ll have to put everything you learned into practice. This is about living a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life without the need to drink alcohol.
This means that you should be able to handle situations where alcohol is present, and not give in to temptation. Instead, you’ll be focused on the benefits of a sober life.
Know the Stages of Alcohol Recovery
Whether it’s you or a loved one who needs to get sober, now you know all the stages of alcohol recovery.
While it can seem like a long and difficult journey, just keep in mind that when you come out victorious on the other side, it’ll all be worth it. And if there are a few slip-ups along the way, that’s ok too. So long as you stay dedicated to sobriety and a healthier lifestyle, then that’s all that really matters.
If you enjoyed this article on alcohol recovery, then make sure you take a look at our other blog articles too!
