The Four Stages of the Process of Recovery.

It appears that there are four stages of the process of recovery that one should be aware of.  Sometimes awareness can be of great benefit to those who are taking their recovery seriously.  Knowing the four stages will assist an individual in being able to access where they are in the process and if needed taking appropriate action to avoid relapse.

Stage One:  Working the program of recovery.  When individuals come out of treatment they tend to feel good, believing that they have truly started a process of recovery and transformation.

Stage Two:  The Dip.  The Dip is when the individual begins to experience the negative emotional side of life, and all of the negative emotions associated with it.  The person will feel sad, depressed, anxious, frustration, etc.

Stage Three:  The Breakdown.  It is here that the individual starts to move toward relapse.  It is here that the individual is starting to lose the knowledge and wisdom once gained.  Relapse has not yet happened.

Stage Four:  Relapse.

The key to this type of paradigm is to know when one is going into The Dip and the steps to take to avoid slipping into Breakdown.  Once in a Breakdown it is difficult to pull oneself out of it and avoid relapse.  Usually the individual did not follow suggestions when they entered The Dip.  The Dip is part of life, part of being a human being.  We all experience it, and especially an individual in recovery.  The key is being able to manage The Dip appropriately, of reaching out to another human being for counsel.  If The Dip is not managed appropriately and effectively the individual will enter a Breakdown and most likely relapse.  The goal is to manage The Dip and return to stage one, practicing the program of recovery.

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The Acceptance of a Passing.

On July 1st my mother passed.  I was there to witness it, to witness her taking her last breathe.  I feel honored to have been there.  This is was loving woman, my mother, who brought me into the world.  I had the honor of witnessing her leaving it.

The emotions and feelings over the past seven weeks have been many.  I miss her, I am sad beyond words.  I at times will call her house, and leave a message on the answering machine as if she will answer it, knowing full well she will not.  I know it is about my grieving process and I know that this is what I have to do to heal myself.  The loss is, along with the passing of my father, one the biggest things that I have ever experienced.

While difficult as it may be, I know that I will come to accept it, to know that it happened in divine order.  The passing of my mother is the way that it was meant to be, and my work is to accept it completely.  My acceptance will not take away the love I have for her, that will remain with me forever.  My work is simply to surrender to her passing, as I eventually must to my own when it happens.

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