The 5 Staqes of Change. Which stage are you?

5 Stages of Change for Compulsive Hoarding

People can and do change, either by themselves or with the help of
therapy, either self directed or with the assistance of a therapist.
James Prochaska, Ph.D, and his colleagues have spent years studying
and researching how people change and they have determined that
people change in stages.

They define these stages as

1) PRECONTEMPLATION

2) CONTEMPLATION

3) PREPARATION

4) ACTION

5) MAINTENANCE

The Five Stages of Change* for compulsive hoarding are:

PRECONTEMPLATION
In this stage, you are essentially unaware that a problem exists and,
as a result, have no intention of changing your behavior in the
foreseeable future. However, persons close to you may be aware of
the existence of a problem. If you are in treatment, it is normally only
as a result of coercion by someone in your environment (e.g., family
insistence, employer requirement, or legal mandate). The idea of
change is not seriously considered.

CONTEMPLATION
You are becoming aware that a problem exists; you may be
considering behavior change but have not made a commitment, such
as setting a goal. You often are weighing the pros and cons of the
compulsive behavior, and may be either over-estimating the pros or
under-estimating the cons. Perhaps you've read a great deal on the
subject. Yet none of this information seems to have made any
difference. The habit endures.

It is very easy to miss out on a brief window of opportunity, a moment
in which you are saying to yourself, "I've had it! No more of this! I'm
doing something about this right now!" You are very vulnerable to old
influences at this time, both external pressures and convincing data
from within. It is imperative to tip the scale of ambivalence in order to
move from contemplation to determination/preparation and action.


PREPARATION
In this stage, you have the intention to change but have not
established a specific goal. In the Preparation stage, you often reduce
compulsive behavior, but not enough to have a qualitative effect on
your life.

This is a transition period between shifting the balance in favor of
change and getting things moving in that direction. You may have
fleeting moments of determination that swiftly vanish when all of the
horrors involved come back into awareness. Determination will lead
directly into action if you have thoroughly considered all aspects of
your compulsive problem realistically, if you have begun to modify
expectancies and have established a goal what is conducive to your
individual needs and values. Your goals must be consistent with your
capabilities, your values, your needs.

ACTION
Simply expressing a desire to change is not the same thing as action,
and until you have started a clear program, you should be considered
to be in the Preparation Stage. It is important to remember that
"paying lip service" to the problem is not the same as actively working
to change the problem. In the Action Stage, you are actively taking
steps to reduce your Compulsive Hoarding. You are making changes in
your behavior and are altering your environment in order to attain
your goals.

MAINTENANCE
In this stage, you strive to consolidate the gains made during the
Action stage, in particular to prevent relapse in your compulsive
behavior. Prochaska and colleagues define maintenance as being
beyond six months of having successfully attained a desired change in
order to be considered in the Maintenance versus the Action stage.

For those of you who are in the pre-contemplation, contemplation or
perhaps even the preparation stages, continue to read everything you
can get your hands on about compulsive hoarding. The best place to
start is the OCF Hoarding Webpage.

It may take some time to educate yourself about the disorder, and to
deal with your ambivalent feelings about change and all your "stuff".
It will take as long as it takes to explore the pros and cons of change.
It may take some time, but this is an integral part of the process of
change.

***
The above information came from a private online support group for Hoarders
called H-C. This information was adapted for H-C from: James Claiborn Ph.D.,
Cherry Pedrick R.N., _The Habit Change Workbook_,
www.ohiovalley.org/abuse/change.html, www.habitsmart.com/motivate.htm