The Stages of Change Theory was developed by two researchers, Carlo C DiClemente and J. O. Prochaska to help clinicians understand their clients with addiction problems. The stages help determine where someone is in the change process and what some of the next steps might be to create successful change. Since you found this site you are likely thinking of making a change or you know someone who you think needs to make a change. So what are the 5 stages of change?
The Stages
There are 5 stages of change,
- Precontemplation
- Contempation
- Preparation or Commitment to Change
- Action
- Maintenance
I will go through each stage and give you an overview.
Precontemplation
Someone in this stage isn’t searching for a solution because they don’t believe they have a problem. They will likely blame their behavior on genetic, stress, family, or some other external factor. It might also be that someone has tried unsuccessfully to change repeatedly and therefore has decided that the struggle to change is just not worth it. They feel defeated and the idea of failing again is worse that what they are going through now. This can happen with any behavior, take weight loss for example, at some point you feel like you have tried every diet known to man and you are done and will just be at the weight you are at. They may have been at one of the later stages and slipped back into precontemplation, not considering change at this time.
You might also be reading this because you know someone who has a problem and they are not ready to see it themselves. If you bring up the notion that they might have a problem they turn it around on you, they deny that it’s a problem, they just don’t see it as a problem in their life. They often see your nagging as a bigger problem. You can’t change other people, but you can stop enabling if that is happening.
Contemplation
In this stage a person recognizes that the substance or behavior is creating a problem in their life and they are trying to decide if they need to change. Often the idea of giving it up is overwhelming and there is a lot of ambivalence. It might look like this;
You know that shopping is affecting your ability to pay bills on time but everything is still getting paid, sometimes things get a little tight financially but you get so much pleasure from buying new things for yourself and your home. You decide you just need to budget a little better but as soon as payday comes and you have money you forget that you decided to limit your spending and go on a shopping spree. You question if it is really that big of a problem.
This is a time to look at the benefits and losses that will come about with changing your situation. In order to successfully navigate change there needs to be strong motivation. It is important to realize there will be losses, you may have to find other activities rather than going to the bar with friends on the weekend. You will need to find other coping strategies to release stress from the work week that can also recharge your battery.
Preparation
Once you have tipped the scales towards change and are motivated to move in a new direction it is imperative to put some thought into how to be successful with changing. Although starting first thing in the morning while you are feeling strong sounds great, it might be setting yourself up for failure.
What sort of things need to be in place for you to be successful. Just to touch on a few;
- Who will support you in this change
- What are your alternatives for creating change, i.e. counseling, group work, AA, etc…
- What will you do when you have urges and cravings to engage in the substance or behavior
- How will you cope when things are stressful
- Are there places you need to stay away from
- Do you need to go inpatient
- Do you need to detox
There are a lot of things to consider at this stage.
Action
So now you are in it. This is the time to put your plan into action. Engage in healthier lifestyle activities, maybe eating healthier, exercising, taking up a new hobby, engaging in stress reduction activities like meditation or yoga. It may be a time to meet with a counselor to understand why you engaged in this behavior or work with a recovery coach to have someone to hold you accountable. There are also a lot of online recovery resources that can be beneficial. It will be helpful to have continuing support while you are in these early stages of recovery. .
During this stage it is also helpful to openly admit that you are changing the behavior. If you are no longer drinking but every family activity involves alcohol you might need to tell family you won’t be seeing them for a while or at least let them know not to offer you an alcoholic beverage when you go over. How to best deal with this type of situation is part of the preparation stage of change and why it is so important to do that step.
This is also a time to make adjustments to your plan, you may have thought you’d be fine going to the bowling alley in the casino but you realize as soon as you walk into that you have an urge to sit at a machine, you may have to give up bowling for a bit or find a place where you don’t have to walk through the casino to get there. During this stage you want to keep yourself out of situations that put you at risk for relapse.
This stage takes a lot of commitment. It is during this stage where you learn to maneuver through urges and cravings, and practice new behaviors. You now create new associations with behaviors that in the past included you engaging in the activity or substance that was problematic. This is why it is important to identify strong motivation in the contemplation stage.
Maintenance
Typically the action stage is considered to be a period of about 6 months. Ideally once you have had six months of abstinence you have created healthier habits and coping strategies. Change requires time to build new habits or patterns of behavior. You have some success at this point but real change is sustained over the long haul, over many years. Even at this stage it is not uncommon to have thoughts or impulses to engage in the behavior but they are likely less intense and less frequent. Stay connected with your support system and continue to engage in healthy activities to cope with stress.
This is also a time to continue to grow as a person, develop more self confidence. What else do you want for yourself. If you were being the best version of you what else do you need or want to add to your life.
Final Thoughts
Because you are human it is possible that you will slip along the way, I am not of the belief that relapse has to be a part of change but humans are not perfect creatures, and it is likely that this is not your first go round with trying to change. Just know that you can learn from a slip or a relapse, what do I need to do differently this next time. Do you need to plan better for potential obstacles, do you need to stay away from certain people, do you need more support. The truth is that if you get up each time you fall rather than just beat yourself up for falling, you will succeed.