Do you feel like it can’t get any worse right now? Perhaps you’ve known you’ve had a drug or alcohol problem for some time, but your current circumstances have reached a new low. Maybe you never imagined reaching this crossroads in life, but it’s happened. Hitting rock bottom with your addiction is something no one ever wants to experience, but it can be a turning point for positive change moving forward.
What Hitting Rock Bottom Actually Means
What happens when you hit rock bottom? It’s a colloquial phrase, but what does it actually look like? The experience of hitting rock bottom can vary from person to person, but it’s essentially navigating what feels like the lowest point in your life, shares Wondermind. Consequently, you may feel depressed, anxious, lonely, or just really bad about yourself in general. It may seem like you’re stuck in an emotional pit and can’t get out.
When you’ve been living with a drug or alcohol addiction, hitting rock bottom may happen when you get kicked out of the house, lose custody of your children, experience job loss, or get arrested. Negative events that change the course of your life are often associated with hitting rock bottom.
However, you also don’t have to experience any of the above challenges to hit rock bottom with your addiction. The Collins Dictionary describes hitting rock bottom as being in a “hopeless or difficult situation which makes you feel very depressed.” Your life still may feel “normal” right now, but experiences over the course of time may have driven you to this rock-bottom state.
Signs You’ve Hit Rock Bottom With Your Addiction
If you’ve been living with addiction (and its consequences) for some time, how can you know when you’ve hit rock bottom? Some of the signs you’ve hit rock bottom may include:
Emotional Signs You’ve Hit Rock Bottom
- Social isolation
- Feelings of despair
- Erosion of denial in addiction
- Anxiety or depression
- Extreme guilt or regret
- Feeling hopeless
- Intense inward reflection
- Detachment from reality
Experiential Signs You’ve Hit Rock Bottom
- Damaged or ended relationships due to your addiction
- Losing your job due to your substance use
- Getting into legal trouble or getting arrested
- Engaging in risky or dangerous behavior due to your addiction
- Navigating a major health incident as a result of your addiction
- Losing parental rights to your children
- Experiencing insurmountable financial issues
What To Do When You Hit Rock Bottom
Think you’ve finally hit rock bottom? There are a number of reasons for why you’ve reached this low point in your life. Keeping the status quo is often easier than making the effort to change. Perhaps you’ve been in denial about the severity of your addiction until now. The stigma of addiction can get in the way of getting help. Co-occurring disorders can also complicate the situation further.
No matter what brought you here, hitting rock bottom can be your watershed moment. Some may see it as an opportunity to spiral further into despair and addiction, but it doesn’t have to be this way. “The only way is up,” as it’s said, and you can begin to take steps in the right direction. Healing from your addiction is still possible. So when you hit rock bottom, here’s what you can do next to climb out:
Be Honest With Yourself
Hitting rock bottom can be a boon for your self-awareness. Now isn’t the time to suppress your emotions or numb out. Take time to really reflect on the choices you made that brought you here. Be honest with the damage your addiction has caused in your life and in others’ lives. Consider practicing mindfulness techniques to help you understand the emotions you’re feeling.
Seek Support
Experiencing rock bottom can make you want to crawl into a hole and never come out. But it’s important to talk to someone you trust about what you’re feeling and experiencing. If you want to come out of this and begin to heal, you need community support along the way. In every step of recovery, ensure you have others there to support you.
Set Goals
Hitting rock bottom can be an excellent motivator to change for the better. Find a recovery mentor or loved one to help you set recovery goals so you can begin to achieve sobriety. Remember to start small and take it a day at a time. Celebrate those small victories as you make progress, too.
Get Professional Help
Addiction is not something you can overcome on your own. You need professional treatment if you truly want to achieve long-term recovery. If you think you’ve hit rock bottom, expert, compassionate addiction treatment professionals can help you climb out of it and reclaim your life.
Real Change at Sana at Stowe
You don’t have to stay at rock bottom. Hope and healing await. At Sana at Stowe, our New-England based treatment center can help you overcome your addiction, as well as any co-occurring mental health challenges. If you’re ready to start your recovery journey and achieve real change, call us today.
