If you live in the United States or any other English-speaking country then you’re probably familiar with the phrase “rock bottom” in relation to addiction.

This phrase is commonly used. It refers to someone hitting their absolute lowest point in some or all aspects of their life. At that point, many believe, the individual will decide to break free from his or her addiction and will then begin to start a new, healthier, and more positive life.

Is rock bottom real? How does someone know that he or she has reached rock bottom? Will all addicts eventually get there? Do most people turn their lives around after they hit it? Does someone have to hit rock bottom before he or she can start to recover from addiction?

Read on for the answers to these questions and more. After reading this post, you may look at the term rock bottom differently than ever before.

Is Rock Bottom Real?

The concept of rock bottom is a real, legitimate thing. Many people who walk the path of recovery can recount a specific moment when they realized they had to stop using and change their course. That moment can be a very powerful force when it comes to starting treatment and can be a guiding force to help an individual to stay the course even when times get tough.

How Do You Know When You’ve Hit It?

The idea of someone’s rock bottom is different for everyone, so it’s truly impossible to suggest to someone else that they may have hit it.

For some, theft from a loved one to support one’s addiction could be a personal rock bottom point. For others, it could be forgetting their own child’s birthday due to substance abuse. Arrests, hospital visits, unexplained injuries, or sexual or physical assault are also common rock bottom points for some.

What may seem terrible for one person may be permissible for another. While actively using drugs or alcohol, it’s possible to rationalize some actions and behaviors that you wouldn’t accept while clean and sober, too. Therefore, only an individual can judge and decide whether rock bottom has been reached.

Will Everyone With Substance Use Disorder Eventually Reach Rock Bottom?

However, not all people with substance use disorder will ever reach their personal rock bottom. Many people who struggle with addiction are functional addicts. They can go to work, spend time with their families, and live a reasonably regular and normal life while still using drugs or alcohol every day. As a result, they may never have the instance of a “wake-up call” to spur them into action.

Even users who encounter struggles and challenges on a regular basis due to their addiction may never reach a rock bottom point either. Often, they learn how to manage these challenges, or rationalize them to themselves in order to continue using.

Is Reaching Rock Bottom Necessary for Recovery?

Fortunately, one does not have to reach a personal rock bottom or receive the proverbial wake-up call to begin working on recovery from addiction.

Many people decide to seek treatment and stop using long before they reach their lowest point.

You don’t need to get to a certain point before embracing recovery. You can do it at any time. You can change your life right now.

There is no reason to wait and see if things get worse. In almost all cases, they will get worse; the wise turn things around long before that happens.

Believing that things have to get worse before they get better doesn’t make any sense. Things can get better as soon as you make the choice to make a change.

You may never have the event or encounter the moment in which something happens and you feel driven to seek treatment. You don’t have to wait for rock bottom to come.

The time is now. Make a choice and get help. Change your life for the better and you’ll never have to see what rock bottom looks like for you.

You Can Break Free

Whether you hit rock bottom in your own life or not, you can break free from addiction. People do it every day, and you can, too. Many people change their lives and begin walking on a clean and sober path and stick with it for the rest of their lives. Is it time for you to make a change?

At the ibogaine treatment center Clear Sky Recovery, we want to help you to take the first steps on your recovery journey in comfort and with confidence.  Our innovative ibogaine detox treatment is effective in helping users get to the root of their addictions and to help them move forward in a healthy way from there.  Our facility in Cancun, Mexico is staffed with experienced medical and therapeutic staff that can help you to make a smooth transition into a new clean and sober lifestyle.  Please give us a call today to find out of ibogaine is right for you!

Resources

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rock-bottom

https://psychcentral.com/blog/hitting-rock-bottom-some-not-all#1