The transition is the time of recovery when a person recognizes that they have an addiction. They must recognize the problem and be motivated to receive treatment and change their life. During stabilization, people begin to recover from withdrawal symptoms and focus on the physical and psychological damage that addiction has caused, as well as on dealing with any impending crisis in their life. They also learn how to stop addictive thought patterns called addictive worry.
The early recovery phase involves working to change thoughts, particularly addictive thoughts. When thoughts change, behaviors must also change, often causing strong emotions. People in recovery often feel guilty and embarrassed about their behavior. Part of the process is understanding and accepting that addiction is a disease they have and that it's okay to have it.
In mid-recovery, people in recovery begin to create a new lifestyle. Addiction is a family illness and affects everyone around the person who used it. An important component of recovery is for the individual to evaluate these relationships and offer to repair them in any way they can. Often this includes finding ways to rebuild trust.
At the end of recovery, a person may have trouble managing their new sober lifestyle because of the habits they learned when they were young. To move forward, they must think deeply about what these behaviors are, when they occur, and why they occur the way they occur. They should get the help of a counselor or therapist to resolve these long-standing childhood problems. Maintenance is the stage where most people think about recovery because it is the part where new thoughts and patterns have been created, lifestyle changes begin to be made, and now they must be maintained on an ongoing basis.
The characteristics of the maintenance phase are the ability to react to problems that arise without resorting to a substance, choosing to grow and develop as a person and continue to be part of a recovery program. People who are concerned with maintaining their recovery can also accept the changes that are taking place in their lives in terms of aging and having adequate expectations during different stages of life. This injury rehabilitation phase can include restoring coordination and balance, improving speed, agility and sport-specific abilities, moving from simple to complex. This leads to phase 5 of the rehabilitation process, which gradually returns the athlete to full activity.
The magnitude of functional loss may be influenced by the nature and timing of the therapeutic and rehabilitation intervention during the initial phase of the injury. The objectives of the second phase of rehabilitation include limiting deterioration and recovering functional losses. Therefore, exercising in the injured area is not recommended during this phase, although there are some exceptions, such as tendinopathy protocols used to rehabilitate Achilles tendon and patella injuries. Because of the physical demands of high-level sports, this phase plays an important role in a successful sports injury rehabilitation program.
