How Long Does Addiction Recovery Take? What to Expect in the Recovery Journey

The key word here is “chronic.” Unlike a common cold or a migraine, addiction can’t be addressed with a pain reliever or an antibiotic. Indeed, the only cure is abstinence from drugs, alcohol, or mind-altering chemicals. This demands hard work, determination, and perseverance before the struggling person can claim long-term sobriety.

In this early phase, individualism seemed sacrificed in return for the safety provided by these authorities. Later, when withdrawal symptoms abated, these same new authorities often came to be experienced as limiting, de-humanizing, or irrelevant. For many, the maintenance and progression of successful recovery thus required differentiating from the patient role or NA and the negotiation of personal freedom.

A Network of Supportive People

My addiction was so extreme that by the end, I was injecting dozens of times a day. So I grabbed the lifeline I was thrown and attended the traditional 12-step rehab program recommended by the hospital where I underwent withdrawal. Millions of readers rely on HelpGuide.org for free, evidence-based resources to understand and navigate mental health challenges. If you were addicted to a prescription drug, such as an opioid painkiller, you may need to talk to your doctor about finding alternate ways to manage pain.

You can support your drug treatment and protect yourself from relapse by having activities and interests that provide meaning to your life. It’s important to be involved in things that you enjoy, that make you feel needed, and add meaning to your life. When your life is filled with rewarding activities and a sense of purpose, your addiction will lose its appeal. Once you have resolved your underlying issues, you will, at times, continue to experience stress, loneliness, frustration, anger, shame, anxiety, and hopelessness. Finding ways to address these feelings as they arise is an essential component to your treatment and recovery.

What Is a 12-Step Program?

This can be in the form of inpatient or outpatient rehab programming. It entails medical detoxification under the guidance of specially trained professionals and coaching those struggling on coping with withdrawal and carvings. Additionally, it includes therapy to address underlying emotions that challenge those who are recovering. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is used to help a patient modify their attitude toward drug use. This type of therapy can be used along with medication to increase the effectiveness of both.

A single recovery journey has many roads and setbacks, but with the right support, a person can find success. If you are able to identify and understand the things that may lead you to a relapse, you are more likely to avoid a relapse occurrence. It is important to have support in place to help during these times, whether it is a friend, a therapist, or a support group. Asking for help is a brave choice, and there is no problem admitting you need help maintaining recovery. Even if you’ve done everything right while pursuing your recovery, you may still struggle with cravings and other challenges. When these issues crop up, it is important that you can identify when you need help.

Preparing for change: 5 keys to addiction recovery

When you decide to enter a professional alcohol and drug treatment program, you will begin a journey through four distinct stages of rehab recovery as you learn to develop a healthy and sober lifestyle. The longer one is able to maintain their sobriety, the better chance they have at long-term recovery. As noted, up to 85% of individuals relapse within their first year of sobriety. Selecting the Most Suitable Sober House for Addiction Recovery The good news is that the longer one is able to maintain their recovery, the better chance they have at sustaining long-term sobriety. Once an individual is able to maintain sobriety for their first year, their chances of maintaining their sobriety exponentially grows. Do not think that just because you attended a 28 day inpatient treatment program you are cured.

We thank our grantees for their compassion, commitment and tireless dedication as they help and support individuals at every step of the recovery process. Over time, working with a therapist can help you expose the root source of addiction. Therapy assists in healing from past trauma and teaches healthy coping skills.

More in Addiction

Your best chance of recovery is by getting combined mental health and addiction treatment from the same treatment provider or team. Aftercare helps you stay on track and keep practicing what you learned while in rehab. Whether it’s individual therapy, support groups, 12-step meetings or an outpatient treatment program, we recommend staying in some form of aftercare for at least one or two years after you complete a course of rehab program. Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross created the stages of change or transtheoretical model in 1983 to help people quit smoking. It was then updated in 1992, when it started being used in clinical settings for a variety of behaviors. By studying various mental health and substance use disorder treatment plans, Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross noted patterns that occur as people progress through a major behavioral shift.

There has been virtually no research on this topic using a long-term perspective. In the present study individuals had an average of 12 years of recovery. Interestingly, we note that one-third had recovered without formal treatment; all had a history of 12-step affiliation. To date, there are little data available on the effectiveness of 12-step groups alone; most studies have assessed the effectiveness of 12-step recovery groups as an adjunct to formal treatment. The present study provides some support for the benefits of long-term 12-step participation, either alone or with formal treatment (also see McKay et al., 2001). Professional drug and alcohol detox programs may only take a few days or weeks to complete.