Author: Gary Jackson

The Addiction Cycle: What are the 5 Stages of Addiction?

They may seem the same after two glasses as they did after one—that’s because their tolerance increased. Private, 6-bed luxurious facilities treating addiction and co-occurring mental health with a customized whole-person approach in Marin County’s rolling hills. It’s okay if it happens, but it’s also something you can proactively work to prevent. You may practice these skills in professional treatment, like joining a relapse prevention group in rehab.

1. These changes in brain chemistry create addiction, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms, which all lead to cravings.
2. Providing a unique approach to recovery with wolf therapy, surf therapy, acupuncture, wellness, and individual counseling for addiction and mental health.
3. Regardless of how the initial use occurs, it is the first step toward addiction.
4. The multiple stages of addiction can occur over a short period of time, or they can take months or even years to develop.

Regular Substance Use

Again, the changes are primarily due to alterations in an individual’s neurobiology that occur as a result of interaction between experience and physiology. Unfortunately, relapse can occur during the action or maintenance stage, which means the addict or alcoholic again enters the cycle of addiction. The stages of the cycle of addiction can be matched up with some of the stages of the model of behavior change and its relationship to recovery. At a certain point, the body or brain becomes dependent on having the substance to be able to function properly.

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Depending on many genetic and environmental factors, some first-time users may not continue the cycle of addiction. In contrast, others may start progressing through the cycle and form a substance use disorder. The fourth addiction stage differs from the abuse stage because the person typically realizes they have a substance problem at this point. Their addictive behaviors become so severe that they cannot function without their substance of choice. At the third stage of the addiction cycle, regular use causes tolerance and physical or psychological dependence on the abused substance.

Drugs and alcohol can serve as a tool for self-medication, providing temporary relief from symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and others. Someone who’s started using substances may show signs of inebriation, like stumbling when they walk, slurring their words, or seeming spaced out. Hiding and spending more time alone can be a sign too, as this would keep other loved ones from noticing some of the more obvious signs. Knowing how addiction looks is a key step to finding treatment—and recovery.

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If an individual requires higher doses of the substance or begins experiencing withdrawal if they aren’t using the drug, they are likely in the third stage of the addiction cycle. Addicts often experience significant changes in their lifestyle and personality to cater to drug or alcohol abuse. Left unmanaged, withdrawal from certain substances can be severe and even life threatening in some cases.

In my experience, the biggest single predictor of whether someone will overcome their addiction is if they act on, and keep acting on, their commitment to be addiction-free. By using the most effective techniques, those proven approaches used by experiential experts, the chances of becoming addiction-free are maximised. The psychology of addiction is a complex field where the experts, by experience, seem to have the deepest level of real-world understanding. Even if the trigger led to a relapse, you’ve still gained a tool for your future recovery and sobriety.

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A luxury drug and alcohol center on a 16-acre pet-friendly ranch with private rooms, equine therapy, hiking trails, a private chef, and more. Behavior therapy is often provided as part of a drug treatment program. Behavior therapy is a type of psychotherapy provided by a psychologist, psychiatrist, or alcohol and drug counselor.

Identifying Initial Use Signs

You gain the same learning opportunity from any relapse, regardless of its cause or trigger. You may start to plan your day around substance use or start canceling plans that might keep you from it. After the first use, you may come back to the substance occasionally.

Other stage models of development have attempted to outline the development of numerous physical, emotional, and mental factors. Some substance abuse treatment programs focus mainly on spiritual talk therapy but without tackling the disease’s underlying physiology. Quality addiction treatment programs focus on correcting the neurological imbalances caused by substance dependence.

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But relapse does not equal failure; with the right addiction treatment programs, individuals can break this cycle of addiction. Physical dependence happens when your body starts to rely on a substance to function. When you stop using the substance, you experience physical symptoms of withdrawal. Over the last two decades, the development of neuroimaging techniques has led to a whole different approach to conceptualizing human development. Instead of looking specifically at behavior, many researchers use animal models, behavioral studies of people, and neuroimaging studies to help them explain how specific mental health disorders may develop. There are many reasons that the individual who ends up struggling with an addiction might try the substance to start with.

When people know more about it, they can make informed decisions about their use. If your environment gives you easy access to substances, is highly stressful, or includes others who use substances (and encourage or pressure you to, too), you’re more likely to develop an addiction. It’s often triggered by something, like the environment you live in, stressors, and mental health conditions.