Raising Rock Bottom in Addiction

If you are familiar at all with addiction and addiction recovery, you have no doubt heard the term "rock bottom". This term is used to describe the end point of the life breakdown stage of addiction. It is where the addict can no longer escape from the pain that their addiction has produced. Rock Bottom is where the negative consequences of one's addiction is finally realized.

It is believed that the depth of everyone's rock bottom is different. For some, it is the mere threat of losing a job, a spouse, their house, or their money that shakes them into the reality of their situation. For others, their rock bottom comes well after the threat of losing such things. It comes after they have lost everything. For some, it seems their rock bottom is the loss of their life.

For an addict, their rock bottom is usually the place where the seriousness of their situation is finally realized. It is where they are no longer able to live in denial of the situation. Some call it a moment of clarity, others call it an epiphany. Whatever you call it, it is at that moment that the addict can see their addiction for what it is and usually where they are ready to seek help.

Delaying The Inevitable

One thing that keeps an addict from reaching their rock bottom is when family and friends try to keep the addict from experiencing negative consequences directly related to their addiction. When a friend, spouse, or other family member steps in and saves the day for the addict they are really doing more harm than good.

The harm being produced is not one of malice. It of course is done out of love. No one wants to see an addict lose their job, their home, their good credit, their car, etc. But by allowing the addict to dodge the negative consequences of their addiction you are actually delaying the inevitable rock bottom.

Raising The Bottom

The best thing that can be done for an addict is to let things play out. You cannot shake an addict and tell them they need to get help for their problem because in their mind, there is no problem. The reality of their situation has not made it's way into their conscious thought.

A loved one needs to take a firm stand that they will allow the negative consequences of the addicts actions to impact the addict instead of trying to help avoid them. The quicker that the negative consequences of addiction pile up, the sooner the addict will hit rock bottom. This is not an easy thing for a friend or loved one to sit by and endure.

What that friend or family member needs to keep in their mind is that by allowing the addict to experience the negative affects of their addiction they are offering them the only help they can, a way to their rock bottom. The quicker an addict realizes that their life is falling apart and that the cause of this is their addiction the quicker they will reach the point of seeking help to stop.

Basically hitting rock bottom means that the negative consequences of addiction outweigh the benefits that someone gets by continuing with their addiction. They finally realize that they cannot keep going the way that they are going. The point I'm trying to make is that family and friends can and do have an impact on how quickly an addict reaches this realization.