What Are The Stages Of Drug Dependency Rehabilitation?

Updated on December 7, 2021

Recovery or giving up on drug addiction is not a matter of joke. It requires time, effort, willpower, and obviously support. When you have decided to enter a professional alcohol and drug treatment program, you are going to actually make the journey through four stages of rehab recovery. 

The Stages Of Drug Dependency Rehabilitation

After all, you are required to develop a sober and healthy lifestyle. Everything comes with a price. Here, in this case, you also have to pay the price with time and effort. The best thing is that several detox centers are out there for your help.


You can choose the best one from here, https://www.gallusdetox.com/locations/colorado/denver-detox-center/. For your reference to this main topic, here are the four stages of drug dependency rehabilitation.

Initiating The Treatment

When you have reached out for assistance from a professional drug rehab program, you are actually starting the first stage of your recovery, which is treatment initiation. During the early days and hours of your rehab, you might experience some uncertain feelings about quitting your favorite drug completely. 


At that moment, you might think that your substance abuse issue is not as bad as that is of others. You should be wary about this particular attitude. Denial and ambivalence can be your worst enemies in the initial days of your recovery.  


At this point of treatment, the main goal is to assist individuals in making a decision about actively participating in the substance abuse treatment program, along with accepting that abstinence is the goal. And, in order to accomplish this, a substance abuse counselor might assist you in doing the below-mentioned things. 

Considering the damaging effects of addiction. 

  • Assist the person in becoming motivated in order to recover. 
  • Explore feelings of denial along with regards to the problem. 

During this initial stage of treatment, the drug and alcohol history of an individual is taken. After that, the treatment program will be introduced for developing a specialized treatment plan. 

Early Abstinence

Once you make the commitment to continue the treatment program for your drug addiction, you will be entering the next or second stage of rehabilitation. It is known as early abstinence. 

Early abstinence from drugs is majorly related to all the positive treatment results. Due to several factors, this is the most challenging stage to cope with. Here are those factors. 


Physical cravings. 

  • Continued withdrawal symptoms. 
  • Psychological dependence.
  • Triggers, which might attract you into a relapse. 


At this stage, you will face several challenges like cravings, high-risk situations which could trigger drug consumption. During this early abstinence stage, your skilled and trained addiction counselor will start to make you learn the coping skills, which you require for leading a sober lifestyle. 

Here you will also learn to use some tools, which will help you a lot throughout your entire recovery process. Here are some of the effective strategies. 


Encouraging individuals in healthy activities. 

  • Recognizing those environmental triggers, which lead to cravings, including things, places, and people. 
  • Taking part in self-help groups, which offer information and also support. 
  • Getting to know some alternative behaviors in order to engage instead of turning to alcohol. 


Maintaining Abstinence

After a span of around 90 days of continuous abstinence, you will shift from the early abstinence recovery stage to the third stage. It is maintaining abstinence. In case you have started the journey in a residential treatment program, now, you will be shifted to the follow-up or continuing counseling phase of your rehabilitation program, that too on an outpatient basis. 


One of the main focuses of this stage of drug rehabilitation is, of course, maintaining abstinence. Here, you will get the knowledge about those warning signs along with the steps, which could lead you to a relapse. 

In addition to all of that, in this particular stage of drug rehabilitation, you will learn to put those tools, which you have learned in the early abstinence, to use in several other areas of your life. This way, you will be able to continue living a completely sober lifestyle.


You will find out that the quality of your future life actually depends on more than not using. New coping skills and tools will be introduced to you. Here they are as follows. 


Build healthy relationships.

  • Avoid ​substituting addictions
  • Manage ​anger.
  • Develop a ​drug-free lifestyle.
  • Utilize nutrition and exercise.
  • Learn money management and employment skills. 

Advanced Recovery

 After almost 5 years of abstinence, you will get to the 4th and final stage of your drug rehabilitation. It is an advanced recovery. At this point of your rehabilitation, you will take all the tools and skills, which you have learned during your entire rehab counseling, along with pouting them to use in living a fulfilling and satisfying life. 

Here are some strategies, which might help you at this point. 


Crafting long-term goals. 

  • Forming social relationships with those people who do not take drugs or alcohol.
  • Establishing a daily schedule. 
  • Taking part in recreational activities, which has simply no involvement of drugs or alcohol. 
  • Searching for different ways to reach above oneself for seeking fulfillment and happiness, whether it includes spirituality, religion, community work, or any type of social activism. 


When you learn to implement all these strategies, it will assist you in remaining sober, along with the skills of becoming a healthier person, a productive member of society, a better partner and spouse, a good neighbor, and above all, a better citizen and human being. 

Recovery is always far beyond just staying sober. It is all about learning to live a healthier and happier life. 

The Stages Of Drug Dependency Rehabilitation At A Rehabilitation Centre

It is not at all easy to handle everything on your own. That is why drug rehabilitation centers are there to help you in quitting drug dependency. Here are the stages of drug dependency at a rehabilitation center. 

Procedure.

  • Making a customized support strategy.
  • Affirmations along with evaluation. 
  • Detoxification.
  • Impatient and also ambulatory nursing. 
  • Gathering nursing.
  • Family therapy.
  • Calm living, support groups. 

Final Words

In the end, we just want to say that you are brave enough to start a new life and quit drugs. It does not matter how long you are into this and how bad everything has become; everything can be started again. And we will be privileged to assist you in your journey. So, if you have any further queries, feel free to reach us. 

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.