What Rock Bottom in Recovery Means and How to Rise from it
People in recovery often talk about having a "rock bottom". What exactly does this mean? And how can you use having a "rock bottom" to be a catalyst for change? We explore in this article.
What is a rock bottom?
A "rock bottom" is the point in addiction when a person feels so low, so hopeless, and so desperate that they are finally willing to make changes in their lives. There are many ways that someone can experience rock bottom.
Different types of rock bottoms
Often, it takes losing what is most dear to them for people to see that addiction is destroying their life. Here are six types of rock bottom that you may experience when you are in active addiction.
Financial
People rarely come out of addiction unscathed financially. The cost of buying drugs or alcohol, losing jobs, paying court costs and the lifestyle that comes with addiction can leave some people destitute.
This leads them to have a “financial rock bottom”, where they have lost everything due to their addiction. Simply not having enough money to buy drugs may not be enough for some people to quit. They may find themselves turning to crime to fund their habit. For others, this low point compels them to find recovery as they realise that they will be impoverished for the rest of their lives if they continue.
Relationship
A"relationship rock bottom" is where an addiction destroys a person’s most important relationships.
This might be one or both of their parents not speaking with them, a close friend distancing themselves, or it might be the breakdown of a romantic relationship.
Of course, for some people, this serves as the impetus for them to throw themselves further into addiction. If you experience this type of rock bottom, try to use it in the right way.
Spiritual
A "spiritual rock bottom" is where a person realises that their addiction has taken them away from their values and beliefs. They will also feel emotionally bankrupt as their spirit is darkened from addiction.
An addicted person may have grown up with religion as a child, afterwards realising that their belief in God had withered away to nothing.
Someone may have found themselves doing things that they would never believed they would do, and the realisation that their morals are so far removed from what they were, horrifies them to the point that they decide to get help.
Physical
Some people in addiction reach their lowest point physically. They may have an accident while under the influence that caused them to reassess what they were doing in life.
Some people damage their bodies to the point where they became very ill. A doctor may have told them that either they stopped taking substances, or they would die.
The sad truth of these situations is that for some people, being told that they will die if they do not stop drinking or using is not enough. Many people with substance use disorder go on to the bitter end, without knowing how good their lives could be.
Legal
When you are living in addiction, coming into contact with the law is frequently thought of as an occupational hazard. If you are using drugs, their illegal nature means that you will have to deal with criminals to get them, and by buying them you will be committing a criminal action too.
The cost of substance abuse can also cause a person to turn to crime. This can cause them to get caught up in situations that ultimately lead to serious legal ramifications.
For some, it is only when they are facing an expensive court case or sitting in a jail cell that they come to terms with the severity of their addiction, and where their life will lead if they do not get help.
Substances not working
Some users encounter a rock bottom when the drugs or alcohol stop working. In essence, they no longer find relief in substance use.
Someone who takes a substance may find that the more that they take it, the less it gets them high. There eventually reaches a point where the substance no longer gets them high at all.
At this point, the person is merely taking the substance so they do not feel withdrawal symptoms. For some people with substance use disorder, this is the point where they decide that enough is enough.
How a rock bottom can help you
Having a rock bottom can be a gift if it leads you to make the necessary changes in your life. It can be a wake-up call that shows you the destructive path that your addiction is taking you down. It can be the motivation you need to finally get help and start recovery.
At the time, going through a rock bottom might feel like the worst thing in the world, but looking back, it may be the best thing to ever happen to you.
Rock bottoms are not necessary
In recovery meetings, people often talk about how they had to have a spirit-crushing rock bottom so that they could make changes in their life. There is no need to be fatalistic, though. You do not have to have a rock bottom.
If you go to recovery meetings for a while, you might hear the story of someone who was on a slippery slope with addiction, realised that they were going to have a big problem, and decided to get clean there and then. Often, these people have a family member who is in recovery. They might have seen what addiction did to their family member, or this family member issued an ultimatum.
While these stories are less common than low bottom stories, it just shows you that there is no need to hit a rock bottom. Knowing that some people have achieved recovery while still in their teens or early twenties can serve as proof that it is possible.
These people may have saved themselves decades of pain by realising that a life of substance abuse is not for them. If you are reading this and feel yourself falling into the despair of addiction, know that you can turn it around. You don’t have to wait to destroy your life to do it.
At any point you can:
Go to rehab
You may believe that only people who have been stuck in addiction for decades are allowed to go to rehab. This is simply not true.
Rehab centers welcome anyone who has substance abuse problems, no matter how long the length of your addiction, or how much you were using. This is because rehabs recognise that addiction is a progressive illness, and you are simply one of those who has caught it early.
The programme will be exactly the same for you as it is for other patients at the rehab. You will still look at the reasons why you were drinking or using, and seek to solve them so that you can stay away from substances in the future.
Join recovery groups
You might feel the same about recovery groups as you do about rehabs. Aren’t they strictly for people who have been injecting drugs for years, or drinking multiple litres of spirits a day? not necessarily. Of course, there are some people like this at recovery groups, but there are also people who have been using substances for a short period of time, and already realised that they’ve had enough.
Rather than being turned away from recovery meetings, you will probably be praised for having the foresight to stop at a young age. By doing this you might even be able to help other people to achieve sobriety at a young age, too!
How to help a loved one experiencing a rock bottom
If you have a loved one who is currently experiencing a rock bottom, it can be difficult to see them experiencing such anguish. Going through rock bottom can be one of the most challenging experiences that a human can face, and watching someone go through it is not easy.
The reality is, though, that there is not much you can do to help someone who is going through addiction unless they want to get help themselves.
Sometimes that means that it is better to let someone experience the negative effects of their drug use, so that they gain the pain that they need to want to change.
When they are ready to make a concerted effort to stop taking substances, make sure that you are there to lend them a helping hand (while maintaining boundaries, of course).
The rock bottom that they are going through might be the thing that finally makes them want to get sober. It can be an invaluable window of opportunity for them to seek help.
Things can always change
If you are experiencing a rock bottom, know that things can always get better and they can also get worse. What you choose to do at this point in time really could be make or break.
Most of us in recovery from addiction had to reach a point where we could no longer live with or without substances. This realisation propelled us to take action, to get help and to start the recovery process.
Feeling you have hit the lowest point in your life may give you the gift of desperation to get well. Remember that you are very ill but that you can recover like many others have before you.
Change can be scary and painful, but there is no greater pain than feeling stuck. Recovery groups are a great place to start. You can use our platform to learn about addiction and recovery, you can improve your wellbeing through our Wellness hub and connect with likeminded others through our virtual meetings and circles.
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