What do you wish to change in your health or in your life in general?
Where are you at in making that intentional change? What decisions have you already made?
When we want to improve our health, we must recognize that it involves not simply taking a pill, but changing our daily habits. How we sleep and rest, how we move, how we eat, how we manage our thoughts and emotions: some or all of these must change in order to improve health.
When we make intentional change, we go through a series of decisions. I suggest you think back at other changes you have made in your health or your life.
- How did that process go?
- What did it take to be ready to make that change?
- What happened when you started implementing change?
- Did you relapse to previous behaviors, then need to strengthen your resolve to change?
This kind of process when implementing change is normal and predictable, I believe. When we model change in stages and cycles, we can better understand where we are at and then see where we want to go.
Stages of Change
Stages of Change was modeled by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente in the 1980’s. Their background was in smoking cessation and substance abuse and dependence. They found that it was not an all-or-nothing deal; they saw change happen in steps or stages.
The most important aspect of their model was the idea that someone needed to be ready to make a behavior change. They saw that this readiness was usually preceded by several smaller decisions over time that lead up to the final decision that it was time to make a change.
In addition, they saw that the decision for change and the ability to make change last is not a straight line, but happens in cycles and spirals.
The Stages
In this model, several stages are described before anyone actually takes action to change. The stages are called precontemplation, contemplation and determination. Then comes the action stage, and eventually the maintenance stage.
I suggest that you look at these stages in a little more detail in relation to the behavior you wish to change. You can see where your decision-making has landed.
It is possible that you are at different stages in different behaviors that promote or inhibit health. As you will see, you may not even recognize that you need to change something, or you may be aware but not want to change it yet.
Precontemplation
At this stage, we may not be aware that a behavior is detrimental to our health, creating negative consequences. This is where a knowledgeable natural health practitioner (like me) can help to identify the behaviors that are obstacles to creating the health that we want.
At this stage, we can be very focused on the difficulties or drawbacks to changing a behavior. We can totally underestimate the impact that changing this behavior can have on our health.
At this stage, we cannot imagine any change for at least six months.
Contemplation
At the contemplation stage, we let in the possibility that changing this behavior could be beneficial to us. However, the pros and the cons weigh just about equally for changing this behavior.
By recognizing that the behavior could be detrimental, we form an intention that someday we may change it. Only when we are convinced that the benefits are worth it will we change it.
The behavior is exciting and pleasurable to some extent, so we like to do it. However, at this point we see that the consequences are becoming greater. These consequences may be physical, psychological, or in relationships at home or at work.
There could be a lot of back and forth at this stage while contemplating changing the behavior. There is a lot of ambivalence.
Preparation
This goes to show that we take decisions slowly. When we have recognized that something could be detrimental and we could change it, there are still decisions to make before taking action.
At this stage, we believe that making the change will lead to a healthier life. The pros have won over the cons.
We have determined that we are ready to take action within the next month. That is, ready to take small steps to changing the behavior.
Or we may have attempted this behavior change over the last year and have not stuck with it. However, we have the willingness to adopt it.
We have the recognition that the time for change is imminent. Nevertheless, some people stay at this stage for a long time or forever.
Action
This is the stage where the decision has been made!
We are taking action to change the behavior. Most likely, we have modified the behavior by starting a new behavior to replace it. We may have educated ourselves to the benefits of the new behavior and that keeps us taking action to receive those benefits.
In addition, we intend to keep moving forward with the behavior change. It is the new normal.
We often seek support through finding people and environments that encourage the new healthy behavior. We can re-engineer our environment so that the stimulus that led to the behavior is not there. We can then put new stimuli in our environment to lead to the new healthy behavior.
Maintenance
The action of the new behavior has been going on for at least six months in the maintenance stage. The intention to continue with this new behavior is in effect. We have formed a new habit.
We are used to this new behavior and it may even be becoming second nature, without any thought. We may continue to fine-tune our relationships and environment to support this new behavior.
However, at this stage of maintenance, we also put some attention towards not slipping back into the old behavior. We have learned to anticipate and handle temptations of returning to the previous behavior. New ways of coping are becoming routine.
Exit and Re-Enter at any stage
This process is not linear. Even though it is presented in a logical progression, most times, our behavior is not so neat and clear.
We can stay in one stage regarding a detrimental behavior. We can also exit at any stage and return to a previous stage. All stages are important.
The good news is that by cycling around, we are actually engaged in a spiral that will lead to success in changing the behavior. By recognizing that relapse and returning to a previous stage can be expected, when we do that we do not have to feel like a failure. We simply can pick up at the stage and move on to the next stage when we are stabilized and ready.
As long as we are conscious of our decision-making process, we can use this model to help us accept where we are in relation to change. When we completely accept where we are, then we have the option of making a different decision for improvement and growth.
Without entertaining the possibility of change, it will never happen.
Readiness is everything.
This is where teaming up with health care professionals can help you in this process.
Please comment below about where you are in a health change, and how knowing about the stages has helped you change.
