So, you've admitted to yourself you're a boozehound. Progress... Now what? Well, it's a good time to get your bearings. Let's begin by mapping out the complete timeline of addiction (how we got here) and recovery (where we're going). As illustrated below, the phases of addiction and recovery have distinct stages which overlap in the middle.
We can identify and characterise each of these stages to help you figure out exactly where you are and how you got there. This is important because what you might want to focus on—and what will be most beneficial—changes depending on how far along you are, how far along you have been, and where you're most likely to relapse.
-ADDICTION PHASE
The addiction phase consists of four main stages:
--FORMATION
Formation is the stage where you encounter alcohol, think "mmm, this is nice", and it becomes embedded in your habitual behaviour. Social licencing normalises this process. (I have mad beef with social normalisation of lots of things but I won't go there right now.)
--AWARENESS
Awareness is the stage where the negative consequences begin seep into your awareness. You may or may not associate these negative outcomes with drinking. For example, it becomes obvious that your life is a disorganised mess, you may be overly emotional in one way or another, etc.
--REALISATION
Realisation is the stage where negative effects are fully manifest and obviously linked to your drinking. You've reached a tipping point and you can't reasonably deny that you have a problem.
--COMMITMENT
Commitment is the stage where you have accepted the reality of your situation and orient yourself toward sorting it out. If you are reading this, then you've almost certainly reached this stage. (Well done by the way.)
-RECOVERY PHASE
The recovery phase, in brief, consists of the following stages:
--SHORT-TERM
Short-term recovery includes the first few days and weeks after you stop drinking. Relapse happens and isn't particularly unexpected. The focus here is just to stop consuming alcohol and make yourself as comfortable as possible.
--MID-TERM
With alcohol out of your system and no more consumed, mid-term recovery begins after a month or two. The focus here is to maintain sobriety and start to repair mainly the physical damage done by drinking. Relapse is less likely than in short-term recovery.
--LONG-TERM
After regaining physical health, your attention turns to working on emotional and psychological well-being. You are making real progress towards a better life, which at this point is self-evident. Relapse becomes less likely as you don't want to give up everything that you have achieved.
--SELF-ACTUALISATION
Self-actualisation is the stage where the person you were meant to be without this little detour is fully recovered. It is the highest level of psychological development, where personal potential is fully realised. And that's where we're going. Sounds nice...
So that's how it goes. And for now, that is all...
But before I go, remember: working on sobriety is an iterative process. We never fail, only learn. Be kind to yourself and never give up.
Marky
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