What Does "Hitting Bottom" Really Mean?
Guest
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,452
I learned hitting bottom was the point that you turn to God and ask for help.
I was told we admit complete defeat, concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholic, that we turn to God for help, and that God sends us to AA, where a power greater than us, the fellowship and program of AA, helps us to recover.
I was told everyone's bottom is the same. That it's the point in which we surrender, or turn to God for help. The point we reach where we say, I can't do this, help me. That's hitting bottom. The realization that we need help, and take action to change.
I was told it is not the outside circumstances or conditions that are going on at the time this happens, but rather that it is the point that we all hit of hopelessness and seeking help.
I was told that people's bottoms better not be different, that there is no unity in being different.
This is of course only one member of AA's ESH.
It was helpful to me however. Hope it is helpful to someone else.
I was told we admit complete defeat, concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholic, that we turn to God for help, and that God sends us to AA, where a power greater than us, the fellowship and program of AA, helps us to recover.
I was told everyone's bottom is the same. That it's the point in which we surrender, or turn to God for help. The point we reach where we say, I can't do this, help me. That's hitting bottom. The realization that we need help, and take action to change.
I was told it is not the outside circumstances or conditions that are going on at the time this happens, but rather that it is the point that we all hit of hopelessness and seeking help.
I was told that people's bottoms better not be different, that there is no unity in being different.
This is of course only one member of AA's ESH.
It was helpful to me however. Hope it is helpful to someone else.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Dallas, Tx
Posts: 2,405
Originally Posted by Veritas1 
I learned hitting bottom was the point that you turn to God and ask for help.
I was told we admit complete defeat, concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholic, that we turn to God for help, .
I was told we admit complete defeat, concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholic, that we turn to God for help, .
My life was going along fine I had a good job, owned my home, no relationship problems (no relationships really to speak of) I wasn't causing anyone any worry, yes I drank a LOT, but I did so at home, alone, mostly on the weekends, I kept to myself. But then 1 night apparently (total blackout don't even remember the first drink) I got drunk and then overdosed on prescription sleeping pills and pain pills, no one even missed me, about 36 hours later God, or some other miraculous cause, woke me and I called 911, I was told there was no medical explanation how I survived. By the 6th day in the hospital I accepted I was an alcoholic and that I had been given another chance, perhaps my last chance. So was that my "bottom"? it was the end of my drinking career, but I prefer to think of it as the "beginning" of my life.
Member of SMART Recovery
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,722
Originally Posted by AVRT
I don't like the phrase - I consider it dangerous. Some people get to thinking that they just haven't hit bottom yet, and that they can keep going deeper and deeper until they do, at which time they will quit. Those "bottoms" tend to have trap doors, though, and for some people, the only real bottom is six feet under.
In reality, what matters isn't "hitting" anything, it's coming to a point where we clearly see the necessity of change and make a commitment to do so. I prefer to call that point "seeing the light".
OTT
12-Step Recovered Alkie
Join Date: May 2010
Location: West Bloomfield, MI
Posts: 5,797
Originally Posted by Veritas1
I learned hitting bottom was the point that you turn to God and ask for help.
I was told we admit complete defeat, concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholic, that we turn to God for help, and that God sends us to AA, where a power greater than us, the fellowship and program of AA, helps us to recover.
I was told everyone's bottom is the same. That it's the point in which we surrender, or turn to God for help. The point we reach where we say, I can't do this, help me. That's hitting bottom. The realization that we need help, and take action to change.
I was told it is not the outside circumstances or conditions that are going on at the time this happens, but rather that it is the point that we all hit of hopelessness and seeking help.
I was told that people's bottoms better not be different, that there is no unity in being different.
This is of course only one member of AA's ESH.
It was helpful to me however. Hope it is helpful to someone else.
I was told we admit complete defeat, concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholic, that we turn to God for help, and that God sends us to AA, where a power greater than us, the fellowship and program of AA, helps us to recover.
I was told everyone's bottom is the same. That it's the point in which we surrender, or turn to God for help. The point we reach where we say, I can't do this, help me. That's hitting bottom. The realization that we need help, and take action to change.
I was told it is not the outside circumstances or conditions that are going on at the time this happens, but rather that it is the point that we all hit of hopelessness and seeking help.
I was told that people's bottoms better not be different, that there is no unity in being different.
This is of course only one member of AA's ESH.
It was helpful to me however. Hope it is helpful to someone else.
I'm a financial planner......so I deal with the stock market a fair amount. When I think of a stock "bottoming" it's the point where it stop dropping and eventually starts going back up. Some take longer to form a base before they go back up....and some go lower than others......but they all basically DO look the same.
I over-identified with external conditions being a part of a "bottom." I thought I hadn't lost enough to have a solid bottom. LOL....i was delusional about just how bad things were, but that's another story.
When I finally started seeking some help from my HP through AA though......that's when things started really getting better. It was after-the-fact that I could look back and see that "bottom."
Since then, I've had numerous OTHER bottoms......in other areas of my life. Bottoms that centered around perfection, control, pride, defiance and a bunch of others. All these were areas of my life where, much like I believed while I was destroying myself with alcohol, I didn't "see" all that much wrong when I started the work.
Alcohol is but a symptom, right? I really believe that. One thing I DID believe.....and I haven't found that I was wrong yet......was that just stopping the drinking wasn't gonna really do much good for me. I knew there HAD to be something more....something deeper.
So...... I had a drinking bottom (that I don't remember as being all that bad, really....... heh- probably just delusional) but I've had a number of "emotional bottoms" - in recovery - as the result of really digging deep into the steps. "More will be revealed" was like the understatement of the century - lol.
In recovery though, I've learned to start to face this stuff. No longer am I willing to accept my knee-jerk reaction to BS my way through things, to "act" like I'm in control, to pretend they don't exist, or to trick myself into thinking they don't bother me. ......Facing them sucks though. I really believe I've had some of my worst days IN recovery, not prior to it. Cleaning up after a tornado isn't fun.....but it's the only way to get free of the wreckage.
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