The Addict Decides When They Have Reached Rock Bottom

A big concern of mine during the last years of my addiction was if I’d reached rock bottom yet. For a long time I felt convinced that it was only by reaching this mythical bottom that I’d be able to quit addiction for good. I had heard plenty of recovered addicts over the years who claimed that it was only by arriving at this point they were able to escape addiction for good. I believed them; I still do but not in the same way as before. What I never realised was that it was up to me to decide when this rock bottom had been reached. I was waiting for something spectacularly bad to happen so that I could get better; not understanding that this was the most stupid idea ever. I had already lost more than any sane person would allow; if I continued on that path it would have led me to the grave – I decided that I’d had enough.

We decide when we have had enough with alcohol or drugs and there is no need for things to reach any particular stage of desperation. We lose as much as we decide we want to lose and there is no advantage in losing everything before we become sober –it just means more of a mess to clean up afterwards. To people who have never been addicted this can seem so obvious, but it isn’t to the person in the midst of addiction – at least it wasn’t for me.

If you are currently dealing with addiction and feel that you need to reach some special rock bottom you are playing a dangerous game. Your rock bottom could be death and there is no recover from this – most addicts will die from their abuse unless they stop. All you need to do is decide that you have lost enough already and begin rebuilding your life from now. There is not going to be anyone judging your eligibility to be on the recovery path – it is not a ‘who has lost the most’ competition.