The Myth of Hitting Rock Bottom

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When discussing the dangers of alcohol or drug abuse, you may have come across the terminology “rock bottom” which signifies the theoretically lowest of lows a person can experience. There tends to be a common sentiment that someone struggling with drugs and alcohol will have to reach this pit of despair before realizing that the time has come to seek professional substance abuse treatment as there is nothing left to lose.

However, this is a subjective method of thinking about addiction that can have deadly consequences. It is time to fully debunk the myth of waiting for a rock bottom before seeking the life-saving treatments available in alcohol and drug rehab programs.

The Problem with the Rock Bottom Mentality

The first problem with the mentality of needing to hit rock bottom before seeking treatment is that “rock bottom” is an ambiguous term. There are not definitive bounds to identify what rock bottom is for each person. For some, rock bottom could be losing employment. For others, rock bottom could be becoming homeless. It could be turning to crime to get money to feed the addiction or even hurting others in the process. There could even be some definitions in which any of these examples do not classify as rock bottom and a much more severe situation would have to occur to earn that title. No matter what your individual interpretation of the lowest of lows may be, that does not take away from how mortally dangerous these circumstances are. Why wait for the worst to happen before seeking help?

The other end result of waiting for a rock bottom to surface is that the addict can be subjecting his, or her, self to the danger of a lethal overdose. If the stigma is that you have to be as strung out as possible, clinging to life, before you can seek the help you so desperately deserve, the odds of an accidental overdose increase tenfold. Cancer patients do not wait until the cancer is stage 4 if it has been caught in stage 2 to begin seeking the life-saving treatments that are readily available. Addiction is a disease and should be thought of in the same way.

There’s No Such Thing as a Rock Bottom

The truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as a rock bottom, which means that the time to get help is now. Chasing the idea of rock bottom before feeling ready to accept is chasing a lethal fantasy. Everyone’s interpretation of rock bottom is different and should not affect you in your decision to seek help.

If you even have the slightest concern that you might need professional help with substance dependency, contact us to speak with our expert staff. Instead of waiting for a rock bottom to come, begin the journey to a fresh start. You only have one life to live. Start living today instead of waiting for the worst to come tomorrow. Call now to learn more about our treatment programs.