This podcast episode is based on Journey to Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide to Recovery from Mental Health and Addiction Issues by Dr. Dawn-Elise SnipesĀ Read it for free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
Journey to Recovery Series
Enhancing Motivation
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes Executive Director, AllCEUs
CEUs are available at https://allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/924/c/
Objectives
~ Define motivation
~ Explore the various types of motivation
Definition
~ Motivation is a combination of desire, willingness and ability. It is your ability to keep your eye on the destination, and choose to do things that move you closer to that end point, instead of detouring you
~ Have you ever accomplished something you were not motivated to do?
~ What was it?
~ How did you get yourself motivated?
5 Principles of Motivation
~ Motivation is a key to change.
~ Motivation and people are multidimensional
~ Motivation is dynamic and fluctuating.
~ Motivation is influenced by social interactions.
~ Motivation can be modified.
Motivational Process
~ Motivation involves:
~ Recognizing that something needs to be done
~ Identifying the benefits to getting it done
~ Addressing the drawbacks to doing it
~ Creating a plan
~ Implementing that plan
Crisis Causes Change
~ Think about a goal you achieved, and complete the following exercise
~ What did you want to change?
~ Why did you want to change it (the crisis)
~ What was uncomfortable about the change (the other crisis)
~ Why was it worth the effort?
Types of Motivation
~ Mental Motivators: Wanting to get out of the fog, believing you can do it
~ Emotional Motivators: Depression, anxiety, panic, PTSD
~ Environmental Motivators: Reducing the tension, more money to improve my environment
~ Physical Motivators: Pain, illness, discomfort, fear of contracting a disease
~ Social Motivators: What friends and family want, what you need to do to be accepted, availability of friends, wanting to set a good example for kids
~ Occupational Motivators: Fear of losing a job, desire for a promotion, frustration at own poor work performance.
Dimensions of Motivation (MEEPS)
~ How is your āissueā impacting:
~ Your ability to think and concentrate? (Mental)
~ Your mood? (Emotional)
~ Your environment reflects how you feel inside. What is it telling you? (Environmental)
~ Your physical health (including sleep and nutrition)?
~ Your relationships? (social)
~ Your work (including your work product, desire to go to work and sick days)?
Activity
~ Part of getting motivated is to understand the benefits and drawbacks of the old behavior and the new behaviors.
~ Example:
~ I want to start eating better.
~ Benefitsā¦
~ Drawbacks
~ Solutions to Drawbacksā¦
~ If I decide to NOT change my eating habits
~ Benefitsā¦
~ Solutions/Alternative ways to meet the same needsā¦
~ Drawbacksā¦
Stages of Change
~ Precontemplation
~ Contemplation
~ Preparation
~ Action
~ Maintenance
Precontemplation
~ Reluctant precontemplators do not have sufficient knowledge or awareness about the problem, or the personal impact it is having, to think change is necessary.
~ How is your addiction and/or mental health issue impacting you and your family?
~ Rebellious precontemplators are afraid of losing control over their lives.
~ What things are making you feel forced into recovery or change?
~ How can you reframe those things, so you feel less angry/annoyed ?
~ What can you do to make the best of this situation?
~ Resigned precontemplators feel hopeless about change and overwhelmed by all of the energy required.
~ Identify all the times you have tried to change and been successful, even if only for a day.
Contemplation
~ Accept that it is normal to be ambivalent
~ “Tip the decisional balance scales” toward change by eliciting and weighing the pros and cons of substance use and change.
~ Visualizing Change
~ GOD collages
~ Drawbacks to staying the same
~ Pretend you have built this awesome community called Recovery Place. It has everything people need to be happy and healthy in itsā walls (doctors, grocery, housing, recreation, support, jobsā¦). You are selling houses in Recovery Place and have to convince people to buy. Why is it worth the money now? What kind of returns can people expect to see on their investment over time?
Contemplation
~ Visualizing Change contā¦
~ Overcoming Obstacles
~ The three things that could take my focus off of my recovery areā¦ I can deal with them byā¦
~ In the past, when I have tried to stop using, these three things have derailed my recovery. I can prevent this byā¦
~ The thing I am most afraid of about recovery isā¦ I can deal with it byā¦
~ The part of recovery I dread the most isā¦ I can deal with it byā¦
Preparation
~ Clarify goals for change.
~ Create a menu of options for change or treatment
~ Where can people find information
~ Connect with others in recovery
~ Identify and deal with barriers to change.
~ Get a commitment from those close to you to not expose you to triggers
~ Review what has worked in the past for you, or people you know.
~ Plan for handling finances, childcare, work, transportation or other potential commitments. (Why? How?)
~ Publicly announce plans to change in order to help yourself become accountable as well as aware of any inner resistance.
~ Continue to refine your vision of a RML.
~ Write a letter to yourself from the future
Points to Remember
~ Change is a gradual process. Your behaviors helped you survive until you were able to start getting other tools.
~ Focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses.
~ Develop two or three sober, sane social supports.
~ Before you criticize yourself, ask yourself if you would be as critical of your best friend. You are likely much more critical of yourself than anyone else
~ Recognize that you are a probably addicted to many things, and when deprived of your addiction of choice, may seek out other behaviors to help you escape.
~ Recognize that you may have other coexisting mental health and physical disorders that require attention
~ Anticipate possible family, health, system, and other problems.
~ Identify high-risk situations and develop appropriate strategies to overcome these.
Energy Balance
~ Emotional/Happiness
~ Ways to improve:
~ Ways to reduce stress:
~ Mental/Creativity/ Concentration
~ Ways to improve:
~ Ways to reduce stress:
~ Physical/Pain/Sleep/Nutrition
~ Ways to improve:
~ Ways to reduce stress:
~ Social/Relationships/ Hobbies
~ Ways to improve:
~ Ways to reduce stress:
~ Environmental/Comfort/Organization/Appearance
~ Ways to improve:
~ Ways to reduce stress:
Summary
~ Motivation is Multidimensional
~ Mental
~ Emotional
~ Environmental
~ Physical
~ Social
~ Spiritual
~ It is just as important to understand why a person is motivated to do the current behavior as to understand why he wants to change
~ Part of developing motivation is addressing obstacles and creating a clear destination that is meaningful for the person.