Addiction

Plagued by his addiction, a King spirals his country into demise.



Prochaska & DiClemente's Stages of Change Model: The stages of change are:
 * The Stages of Change**
 * Precontemplation(Not yet acknowledging that there is a problem behavior that needs to be changed)
 * Contemplation (Acknowledging that there is a problem but not yet ready or sure of wanting to make a change)
 * Preparation/Determination (Getting ready to change)
 * Action/Willpower (Changing behavior)
 * Maintenance (Maintaining the behavior change) and
 * Relapse (Returning to older behaviors and abandoning the new changes)

Stage One: Precontemplation
In the precontemplation stage, people are not thinking seriously about changing and are not interested in any kind of help. People in this stage tend to defend their current bad habit(s) and do not feel it is a problem. They may be defensive in the face of other people's efforts to pressure them to quit. They do not focus their attention on quitting and tend not to discuss their bad habit with others.

Stage Two: Contemplation
In the contemplation stage people are more aware of the personal consequences of their bad habit and they spend time thinking about their problem. Although they are able to consider the possibility of changing, they tend to be ambivalent about it. In this stage, people are on a teeter-totter, weighing the pros and cons of quitting or modifying their behavior. Although they think about the negative aspects of their bad habit and the positives associated with giving it up (or reducing), they may doubt that the long-term benefits associated with quitting will outweigh the short-term costs.

Stage Three: Preparation/Determination
In the preparation/determination stage, people have made a commitment to make a change. Their motivation for changing is reflected by statements such as: "I've got to do something about this - this is serious. Something has to change. What can I do?" This is sort of a research phase: people are now taking small steps toward cessation. They are trying to gather information about what they will need to do to change their behavior.

Stage Four: Action/Willpower
This is the stage where people believe they have the ability to change their behavior and are actively involved in taking steps to change their bad behavior by using a variety of different techniques. This is the shortest of all the stages. Mentally, they review their commitment to themselves and develop plans to deal with both personal and external pressures that may lead to slips. They may use short-term rewards to sustain their motivation, and analyze their behavior change efforts in a way that enhances their self-confidence. People in this stage also tend to be open to receiving help and are also likely to seek support from others.

Hopefully, people will then move to:

Stage Five: Maintenance
Maintenance involves being able to successfully avoid any temptations to return to the bad habit. The goal of the maintenance stage is to maintain the new status quo. People in this stage tend to remind themselves of how much progress they have made. People in maintenance constantly reformulate the rules of their lives and are acquiring new skills to deal with life and avoid relapse. They are able to anticipate the situations in which a relapse could occur and prepare coping strategies in advance. They remain aware that what they are striving for is personally worthwhile and meaningful. They are patient with themselves and recognize that it often takes a while to let go of old behavior patterns and practice new ones until they are second nature to them. Even though they may have thoughts of returning to their old bad habits, they resist the temptation and stay on track.

Relapse
Along the way to permanent cessation or stable reduction of a bad habit, most people experience relapse. In fact, it is much more common to have at least one relapse than not. Relapse is often accompanied by feelings of discouragement and seeing oneself as a failure. While relapse can be discouraging, the majority of people who successfully quit do not follow a straight path to a life time free of self-destructive bad habits. Rather, they cycle through the five stages several times before achieving a stable life style change. Consequently, the Stages of Change Model considers relapse to be normal.

In addition, there is one more stage, Dr. Kern has added which is not part of the Prochaska-DiClemente Stages of Change model:

Transcendence
Eventually, if you "maintain maintenance" long enough, you will reach a point where you will be able to work with your emotions and understand your own behavior and view it in a new light. This is the stage of "transcendence," a transcendence to a new life. In this stage, not only is your bad habit no longer an integral part of your life but to return to it would seem atypical, abnormal, even weird to you.

= = = **HIGH PROFILE ADDICTIONS** = **Lyndsay Lohan:**

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 * Amy Winehouse **
 * Amy Winehouse **

Three months after [|**Amy Winehouse**]‘s [|untimely death], the London coroner has determined that the singer died of accidental [|alcohol poisoning]. An inquest held this week revealed that Winehouse’s blood alcohol level was well over the amount considered fatal, but ruled out suicide. Her personal physician testified that she had just seen the singer the night before she died, and she’d expressed no thoughts of killing herself. **Dr. Cynthia Romete** said: > “She was calm, she was coherent, she was tipsy but she didn’t slur and she was able to hold a full conversation,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t concerned that she was suicidal, she hadn’t expressed a wish to die. ‘She had clearly said, “I do not want to die” and she talked about the future.” Dr. Romete revealed that Winehouse was making strides in her battle with alcohol addiction, and that she had not used illegal drugs since 2008. Although three empty vodka bottles were found nearby the singer’s body, there were no [|illegal drugs] found in her system when she died. Winehouse’s parents, **Mitch** and **Janis Winehouse**, issued this statement following the inquest:

‘Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time.’


 * CHARLIE SHEEN **
 * CHARLIE SHEEN **





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