What Hitting Bottom Means for an Alcoholic or Addict

What Hitting Bottom Means for an Alcoholic or Addict Addiction Alcohol Use Print Hitting Bottom for an Alcoholics By Buddy T facebook twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial policy Buddy T Updated on January 10, 2020 Dirk Lampersbach / EyeEm / Getty Images More in Addiction Alcohol Use Binge Drinking Withdrawal and Relapse Children of Alcoholics Drunk Driving Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery For those with the disease of alcoholism, it seems to be an almost universal truth that before things can get better, they have to get worse. Sometimes, they have to get a lot worse. They call it hitting bottom. The bottom is the place an alcoholic must reach before he finally is ready to admit that he has a problem and reaches out for help. After all, for the true alcoholic, it doesnt seem to him that he has a problem. Hes just having a good time. If everybody would just get off her back, everything would be okay. Shes got a disease, but it sure doesnt seem like one and the last thing that would ever occur to her is that she needs help. Because alcoholism is a progressive disease, there comes a point at which even the most dedicated drunk decides that there just might be a problem. Alcoholism does not stay in one place. It doesnt hit a certain stage and then level off. It keeps deepening, affecting the person physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually. On all of those levels, things keep getting worse until finally, he hits bottom. So where is the  bottom? Nobody really knows. Why You Should Think of Alcoholism as a Disease Where Is Bottom for an Alcoholic? For some, getting that first DUI might be where the turning point comes. Getting locked up, even for a few hours, and facing the public humiliation of a court date is for some the only signal they need they have a problem. For others, however, 10 drunk driving arrests have no effect whatsoever. Driving without a license and frequent visits to the local jail dont phase them at all. Alcoholics have lost drivers licenses, jobs, careers, girlfriends, wives, family, and children and have continued to deny they have a drinking problem. 4 Online Tests to Identify a Drinking Problem It was always somebody elses fault. His wife just didnt understand him. The only reason he got that DUI was because he was driving a red vehicle and cops watch for red vehicles. She wouldnt have all the problems shes got if it werent for those MADD mothers. Her boss was a real pain to put up with anyway. His career as a professional was going nowhere fast and besides, he enjoys selling used cars; he gets to meet more people. Some alcoholics go on for many years denying their downward spiral into social, economic, and moral decline. But every alcoholic has a bottom out there to hit. A place where even the hardest of the hardcore drinkers finally admit that their lives have become  unmanageable. Does the Bottom Look Familiar to You? If this sounds familiar, there are a few questions that you might want to ask yourself about your own use of alcohol. How Does Your Drinking Compare to Others? It doesnt have to get any worse before you can find help putting your life back on track. Once you take that step, things will begin to look up.