Hitting Rock Bottom is the Crux of Recovery

Hitting rock bottom is a place that no one wants to be, but it’s often the beginning of a new journey. An addict then realizes one has no choice but to start living life differently. In regards to addiction, whether rock bottom involves estrangement from loved ones or a brush with death, the addict has to finally admit the havoc and destruction that addiction has caused to one’s life. With that clarity, then the addict can move forward with the determination to never feel that way again, and to make sure that life is lived differently.

Signs Of Rock Bottom Behavior

When a person has hit rock bottom, there are some pretty telling signs. If the addict no longer has contact with friends, family, or romantic partners, then this is a sign that addiction has deformed one’s interpersonal relationship with others. Likewise, if drugs or alcohol have caused job loss, lack of personal care, debt, and health problems, one’s life is being systematically destroyed. And while those are all strong signs of hitting rock bottom, the strongest sign may be if an addict overdoses and has to be sent to the emergency room. Unfortunately, this may be what it takes for someone to truly acknowledge hitting rock bottom.

Steps To Rebuilding One’s Life

However, the good that can come out of this, is that the addict finally admits accountability for the way one’s life has crumbled. And then the next steps will be towards rebuilding one’s life. A person has to decide that life is worth living, and then take the necessary steps towards achieving sobriety. These steps include:

• Admitting addiction to family and friends
• Seeking professional help
• Detoxing from drugs or alcohol
• Finding a long-term support group

Each of these steps can be profoundly difficult and emotional to do, but the rewards will be well worth the struggle. By admitting the addiction to friends and family who may have been estranged, most likely they will rally around you and seek to support and help you in any way they can. Then you can seek the professional help that you need who can guide you through a custom treatment plan, which includes detox, and eventually finding a long-term support group. Due to the emotional difficulty of these steps, sometimes hitting rock bottom is the main reason why someone finally decided to embark on the journey of recovery. People have to realize that they don’t want to live a life of addiction, and will do whatever they have to do to change.

Remove Negative Influences From Life

After someone has hit rock bottom then they are able to start seeing one’s own life with more clarity, both good and bad. And one of the biggest things that will stand out is the negative influences that have taken over one’s life. Negative influences can be easily pinpointed, or may be more insidious. They can range from drug or drinking buddies who encourage addictive behaviors, negative people who are damaging to be around, to even lifestyle habits such as staying up late at night or a sedentary lifestyle. All these things contribute to someone’s descent into addiction. By recognizing that certain people are toxic, and that certain lifestyle habits like staying up late at night encourage addiction, then it’s easier to crop these influences out of one’s life.

Although it’s preferable that someone recognizes a substance abuse problem before hitting rock bottom, many times the power to addiction is too strong for the individual to resist without extremely sad or life-threatening circumstances. The saying goes that with every end, there is a new beginning. And for an addict deciding to embark on the journey of recovery, that saying couldn’t be more true.