What Is Treatment Motivation?

Treatment is a great option when struggling with addiction to substances, but even when treatment is available not everyone enrolls. Treatment motivation is also not enough to get people into treatment. They need access to care. This barrier to treatment is difficult to overcome for many. They may also try outpatient rather than inpatient programs. This means they have to be motivated to complete treatment and seek proper help. Find out how people can get more motivated to enter treatment and stick with it.

People with severe addiction have difficulty with motivation, judgment, and self-care skills needed to get help on their own. Part of the reason is that drugs cause impairment to the brain’s ability to perceive problems and make healthy decisions. The brain impairment may be misinterpreted by the family as unwilling to seek treatment. Motivation is key because addiction is a chronic condition lasting a person’s entire life. Even those who enter treatment may not be successful in reducing or stopping drug use.

For those with addiction, substance use becomes part of daily life. It can be a coping mechanism for other symptoms, including chronic pain, depression, or anxiety. Many people who complete treatment relapse. This fact is hard to understand because it means about half of people will not stay sober and clean. The reality is addiction impacts the brain and body to the point it is very hard to get help and stay clean. It takes a lot of motivation to stay focused on the goal. Individuals with addiction can sort through the problems they have and the consequences of those actions. If they enter recovery, they can learn to engage in a new way with treatment.

Recovery after treatment is a big challenge. This shift in motivation means people will have to think differently about how they see themselves in recovery. Daily activities, friends, work, and personal lives all shift. Ongoing support from friends, family, and others is key to making it through recovery and keeping treatment motivation a top priority.

Those suffering from addiction will not wake up without problems, they will wake up to new sets of challenges to take on in their lives. Those who struggle must learn how to deal with these challenges and stay motivated to stick with it. Changing addictive behavior takes a village of people.

Staying in treatment can be hard. It is full of risks and ups and downs people don’t always want to face. Doing what is needed to succeed is challenging. Motivational interviewing and motivational enhancement therapy can help people recognize their behavior and how to change. The strength to change comes from motivating themselves to work towards influencing behavior in a positive way.

When someone is willing to change, they’re able to see their actions as a reflection of themselves and how they see themselves in the world. If they are willing to shift their thoughts and behaviors, they might be able to make positive changes.

When someone is ready to change, they will prioritize the change. They will make it the first thing they want to do and create a priority out of it. When it is the thing they want most in the world, they make it possible and put their effort behind it.

People with addiction are more likely to be motivated to seek treatment if they share their goals and challenges with family and friends. If they can share their struggles with someone they love, they often are able to get on the path to recovery faster. Addressing the challenges people face is important. Trained professionals provide people with skills to learn how to navigate social changes and make treatment a priority. When they have a strong social network they are more able to stay focused on sobriety.

The intrinsic treatment motivation carries a person further on the road to recovery. They are not able to have other people take their load for them. They have to do the work, manage recovery work, go to meetings, show up for themselves, and work hard. Motivation feels burdensome because it is supposed to be complicated. There is no easy way to make it into recovery.

It is hard but necessary to make it on your own but with the support of loved ones along the way. The motivation to care has to come from a person’s internal desire to see things change. They have to want to be better, get healthy, and find hope in the midst of the trials they face. They can find hope for healing if they are able to navigate it with support but it first begins with them being willing to do the work.

Looking ahead to recovery in a few or even five years helps set goals. Set small milestones that help you step into those bigger goals. Nothing is more motivating than moving forward with big goals in mind. When big goals are met, they can help give the motivation to keep building on those and moving forward in recovery. Set out an aftercare plan that looks at a few years down the road where you want to be and start making small steps towards those goals with the help of a support system.