The Cycle of Change and the Hero’s Journey: A new way of looking at addiction recovery

Although I will be talking predominantly about Addiction in this posting this can refer to other activities of life. Such as: Obsessive compulsive disorder, relationship issues, career change, or moving house. Please remember that this is only an opinion driven from my contemplations. I will first explain the Cycle of Change and the Hero's Journey, then show how the Hero's Journey can be a better tool to help people with addiction. This is also a tool that helps gain motivation and self pride in the addicted person, which may need picking up.

Cycle of Change

Within the therapeutic tool box of addiction, the "Cycle of Change" model is extensively used to explain how people with addiction are on a path of change. This model is a guide to help the client get the right help at the right time and alleviate the client that every failure is part of a learning process and not a failure. The Cycle of Change is comprised of 6 steps that the person moves through on the quest to achieve permanent change. Furthermore a person can go through this cycle several time before permanent change is achieved.

1. Pre-contemplation – This stage takes place before the person realises the need to change, yet every one ells can see a need for change. This is when the person will say "I have not got a problem, every one ells has a problem". At this stage the person is unaware of the consequences of their behaviour on others. It is here that a significant others can help make the person aware of their consequences. So if a person is constantly asking for money to buy food, because they have spent all the money on drugs, Don't give them money, but go shopping with them and give them what is needed, being food, not money. Then the money will not be used for drugs, and the significant others does not need to feel like they are being lied to.
2. Contemplation – At this stage the person is aware that change is needed but is still reluctant to find a way to change. Change for anyone for any reason is hard because old patterns need to be gotten rid of and new ones started, we all get comfortable in the mess that we live in and muddle along in life. So although a person knows that change can happen, resistance to change is abundant. Here the significant others provides options and literature to help motivate the person to begin helping them-selves to change.
3. Preparation – Within this stage the decision to change has been made, contact numbers gathered and perhaps the first booking with a counsellor in made. This is a scary time for the person and they need encouragement and assurance that their anxiety is normal. I have seen people in this stage go on their last bender, and drug use increases because they feel that this is the last time they will ever use drugs. This is actually causing greater harm, sadly, because this may increase the detox pains and use up all the money they have saved to go into a detox program, or to see a Doctor, counsellor, psychologist, or out reach service.
4. Action – At this point the person has begun the process of change, the doctor has been consulted or the person is seeing a counsellor, or the person has been booked into a detox or rehab unit. This may not be a period of abstinence, though drug use in reduced and the person is starting to lead a healthier life. The significant others can give encouragement through this time and show the consequences of leading a better life, like going on outings together and showing them more trust. Though Lapse back into the old life is still a risk at this stage.
5. Maintenance – This is the success stage that the person wants, the drug use had been decreased to a satisfactory level to maintain relationships, keep a job, and live healthily, or stops using all together. But the hardest thing about changing behaviour is to keep up the new life stile and not fall back into the old habits. Furthermore, to stay at this level during a time of crises is the hardest thing a person will have to go through. When stress is maximised through, death, divorce, losing a job, coping with an illness in the family, etc. Also Positive stress can have an impact on the well-being of the person's capabilities to maintain a health life style. Such as calibrations, Christmas, births, anniversaries, etc. During this time the significant others need to help by removing triggers that may put the person at risk of relapse. I remember I was mentoring a Church Paster that had one of the Church members with an alcohol addiction, everything went well, the church member made it 6 month of abstinence from alcohol. At this point the Church Paster decided to have a 6 month party to celebrate the abstinence. Well I bet you can picture the out come… The people invited to this part bought along alcohol, and by the end of the night the Church member was back to square one. I only wish the Paster consulted me on that one decision to have a party.
6. Lapse and Relapse – Lapse is when the person goes back to the old way of life for a short time and then re-enters the recovery cycle anywhere in that short time. Relapse is when the person goes back to square one and starts the cycle all over again. All these speed humps on life's journey are times for reflection and learning, so that self knowledge is gained for the next time around the cycle.

I have seen this model used within group settings with clients with addiction. The chart is placed on the white board and the clients then share what they went through at each stage of the journey and that was that. It is a good tool to help the therapist when assisting significant others in copping with a family member that is an addict, but I feel that a better tool can be used with the client. The cycle of change matched the Hero's Journey well though the 6 parts are split up further into 12 or 17 parts. The hero's Journey I feel will help people in the process of change, identify the archetypal characters in their life, who is opposing them, who is helping them, who is trying to trick them, and to show how the "you" in your story of change, you are the Hero, and finally to show that there is an end to the struggle.

The Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell is the person renowned for uncovering the Mono Myth that is embedded in all the Myths and Legends around the world, and for showing that how forms of entertainment today, (movies, books, tv shows, plays) are successful when the core points of the Hero's Journey Mono Myth are in them. To have this further illustrated, all you need do is to Google "the Hero's Journey" or search the same thing on Youtube. I want to talk about how this concept of the Hero's Journey would be a better tool when working with people that in the midst of change, and show that there is meaning in what they are going through and what others are doing to them.

The Hero's Journey has 12 stages. They are:

1. Ordinary World - The hero's normal world before the story begins or thought of change is thought of – This is the same as stage 1 in the cycle of change. The normal behavior in the life of an addict is that of drugs or alcohol being the first and only priority in life. This is a life of a vicious cycle, of finding money to get drugs, alcohol, or for gambling. Relationships, job and a healthy life come last. Many addicts will do things that they would normally never do, like cheat, steal, lie, sell their body and con others to get their substance of addiction. If a person lives in this life style for too long they think that they are not capable of doing anything different. But this is where the significant others can show how the consequences of their actions are hurting others around them.
2. Call to Adventure - The hero is presented with a problem, challenge or adventure – This is the same as stage 1 in the cycle of change. Here the person is given some options and the consequences become very real. Some people with addiction had their significant others give up on them or show "hard love" by kicking them out of their life. This may present the decision to the person to change so they can be with the ones they love or they go further down and find out what rock bottom is for them. Other people may find them self in front of a judge and ordered to either seek treatment or go to jail. Here at this stage the person may not even know that they have the call to adventure to change, but the signs are all around them to change their life or lose more that what they want to lose, this includes their life.
3. Refusal of the Call - The hero refuses the challenge or journey, usually because he's scared – This is the same as stage 2 in the cycle of change. I have found that many people will be jumping between decisions here, "I know I need help, but I don't want to change". This will come up throughout the recovery process, some professionals call it a "Decision Bifurcation". The person in given a choice and the decision is real for them, and the consequences are clear, either they change or they stay in their old life and they die by installments. The person looses the relationships they have, loose their possessions, loose the brain functioning in piece meal, and their body functions, until they lose their life. Thus to refuse the call has its own consequences, taking up the call means that other consequences are more desirable, or the person has no choice in taking the call, thus doomed to take an adventure that will only result in their own resistance and will go back to a life of addiction, gaining nothing.
4. Meeting with the Mentor - The hero meets a mentor to gain advice or training for the adventure – This is the same as stage 3 in the cycle of change. These mentors are real people, they can be family members, doctor, counselor, social worker, or a friend that has taken the adventure. The mentor is there to prepare the person on the road to recovery, giving options of people to see, or organization to get involved in, like AA/NA. There is a saying that when the student is ready the master will show up. The thing here is that masters or mentors will only be seen if the person with an addiction is prepared to view them as mentors. If the mentor is not recognized by the addict, they think they either don't need one (thus doomed to start again) or are not willing to change. Some people that have been through the cycle of recovery from addiction several time, think they know it all and thus think that the information is no good and that it is a waste of time, thus go back to square one. Furthermore if the person had failed the adventure of change once before, they view the hole process of trying to change as a waste of time, because they will only fail again. This attitude is driven by the fact that they may not have resolved the issues that is at the core of the addiction in the previous call to the adventure of change. And in this case the mentor will be ignored and the true master will not be encountered latter in the journey.
5. Crossing the First Threshold - The hero crosses leaves the ordinary world and goes into the special World – This is the same as stage 4 in the cycle of change. This can come in two forms. In the symbolic form, the first threshold can be accepting a medication regime that was agreed with the doctor, or taking the counseling serious and doing the work in a CBT program. The other form of this threshold can manifest is a real physical boarder between the real world and a world created for recovery, like a detox centre or a rehab. Crossing the threshold of the detox centre or rehab is the scariest time, the person does not know the workers, the rules, the other clients, or how they will cope. The building is a representative of the "belly of the wale" where you must travel to meet the tests set out in the next stage. The anxiety and the unknown is so overwhelming that some run from the threshold back to their old life. This is where the mentor is truly needed to give the person courage to cross the threshold. The mentor knows that it is only within the belly of the wale (aka detox or rehab) that the new mentor/s will come along to help the addict encounter the darkness that is within them.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies - The hero faces tests, meets allies, confronts enemies & learn the rules of the Special World. – This is the same as stage 4 in the cycle of change. The special world is in essence a life without a substance abuse, and learning how to live in that world. It is in the learning of this new reality that the tasks are new and the learning curve is steep. Also the special world in a detox or rehab which also have special rules that must be adhered to.
   1. a. New Mentor – As soon as the person crosses the threshold a new mentor appears to help in showing the limitations of the special world. The mentor may be a care worker, counselor, or a person that has taken the adventure of change and chose to give back what he has learnt.
   2. b. Allies – The allies that the person comes across are others that are taking the adventure of change and want to change. The allies will comfort you when times are a bit tough and help you keep to the rules, likewise the hero does the same for the allies.
   3. c. Tricksters – A few of these allies may also be tricksters in disguise, wanting to achieve in their own journey of change, but get pleasure in seeing other fail. In German these people are called Schadenfreude. I have seen people try to convince others to break the rules of this special world out of fun and then sit back and see them get evicted from the special world (aka detox or rehab).
   4. d. Enemies – The enemies that you encounter are people that will try to get you to fail and are not on the adventure of change themselves. These people are often visitors, or friends and sometimes the partner of the person trying to achieve change, that are still using drugs or drinking and see the person wanting to change as a threat to their own self worth, thus they will try to get that person to fail. Also and rear, staff members on a power trip can be seen as the enemy trying to get the hero to fail. But don't confuse power trippers with the testers.
   5. e. Testers/teachers – The people that are there to test the people need to know that they are serious about their recovery. Also they will conduct groups and require you to participate in journaling or some type of CBT that tests a person's resolve to stay on the adventure of change and explore the self. The tester or teacher is not there to be a comforting friend, their role is to confront your old world and show you that the old world is a reflection of old living and of unresolved issues. Here is the balance of power that can make or break the hero, the Tester will confront you, but your allies and new mentor/s are there to soften the blow that the tester is confronting you with.
7. Approach - The hero has hit setbacks during tests & may need to try a new idea – This is the same as stage 4 in the cycle of change. This is the greatest step of change. The person needs to reevaluate their own thinking patterns, reasons for action, and modify their behavior, to reinvent the world view that they have lived with for so long. The person absorbs the special world that was external to them to become an internal reality.
8. Ordeal - The biggest life or death crisis – This is the same as stage 4 in the cycle of change. The ordeal can come in so many forms, so in a nut shell, the approach that the person has learnt to live with is now challenged by the old world. Old friends will be lost, and the new way of thinking will be at odds with everyone that the person once called upon for help. When therapists talk about changing the environment is a step on the road to recovery, this is the step that it takes part in. the hero will question their own sanity and the teaching that was given. The tester/teacher is not around, and the new mentor may be absent, this is where the person needs to stand on their own. The ordeal, makes or breaks the person on the road to change. If the hero breaks the step back to the Approach step is not fare, and is part of the method of many rehabs.
9. Reward - The hero has survived death, overcomes his fear and now earns the reward – This is the same as stage 5 in the cycle of change. Joseph Campbell calls this the "awarding of the boon". The reward is the new skills, coping methods, rules, and self-awareness that makes the person a Hero and role model for others to emulate when they are back in the ordinary world. Though the person is still in the special world and given acknowledgment by everyone in the special world, this reward means nothing if it is not achieved in the ordinary world.
10. The Road Back - The hero must return to the Ordinary World. – This is the same as stage 5 in the cycle of change. The road back to the ordinary world has another Refusal of call by the now recovered addict to contemplate. The fear, anxiety, and stress to go back to the ordinary world are real and the consequences have a great impact on the person. The mentors, allies and testers are left behind in the special world and the friendships in the special world are now severed. But if the person refuses to depart the special world, that person does not become a hero, that person becomes a mentor or tester to others that come through the path of change.
11. Resurrection Hero - another test where the hero faces death – he has to use everything he's learned – This is the same as stage 5 in the cycle of change. By going back to the ordinary world with all the temptations and the memories of the old world, the hero is now friendless, dead to all the old friends that once used drugs with the hero, and dead to all those in the special world, because the hero no longer needs them to live. The resurrection is the hero building a new life with a new job, and making new friends.
12. Return with Elixir - The hero returns from the journey with the "elixir", and uses it to help everyone in the Ordinary World – This is the same as stage 5 in the cycle of change. The hero (recovered addict) does not see the old life of addiction as shame, but with pride and willing to point the way for others wanting to change. This is not an active role, just living in a new life is enough. When people from the old world sees the hero and what the hero is capable of, becomes an incentive to them that change is possible. By seeing the full potential realized in the hero is open for others to achieve the same.

Discussion:

With the model of the cycle of change is valid and useful, I feel that it does not full prepare people to go through the journey and explain the types of people they will meet on their journey. By recognising who are the teachers, mentors, allies, and tricksters, the person going through change becomes better equipped to avoid the pit falls that are inherit in any journey of change, along with the emotions that they will suffer. This is some what based on the concept of naming. When a person has emotional control issues, that person is taught to name the emotion that they have and then identify the source of those emotions. This helps people control their emotions. Like wise if people are taught about the journey of change and characters they may encounter, they will be better prepared to take the journey. I invite you to comment and ask question about this concept or idea that I have drawn inference from Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.