Hitting rock bottom can feel like the end of the world for a lot of people. Whether they’re dealing with a drinking problem, a drug addiction, an issue with gambling, or something else, there’s nothing fun about finally hitting your absolute lowest point.
Many people will tell you that hitting rock bottom is the best thing that will ever happen to you. It’s easy to feel hopeless when you’re sitting at rock bottom.
The good news? There’s nowhere to go but up from there!
It’s important for you to know how to rebuild your life after hitting rock bottom and make the most of the situation. Keep reading to discover some of the best ways to reclaim your life and get back on track.
Table of Contents
Figure Out How You Hit Rock Bottom
Those around you might be well aware of the problems that led to your demise. But until you recognize them for yourself, it’s going to be difficult for you to turn your life around.
If you suspect you may have hit rock bottom, look around you and try to figure out how in the world you got there. Is it because you’re:
- Spending all of your days and nights drinking your life away?
- Developing an addiction to cocaine, heroin, or another dangerous drug?
- Struggling to find out how to deal with gambling debt?
Analyze your life to see why things aren’t going your way. By identifying the issues at hand, you can start to work on it.
Allow Yourself to Feel the Pain That Comes With Hitting Rock Bottom
They call rock bottom rock bottom for a reason. It hurts like hell when you hit it.
In the days and weeks after hitting rock bottom, you’re going to feel a pain that you’ve never felt before. In many cases, that pain is enough to push you right back toward the problems that got you here.
You might be able to numb this pain for a little while by relying on your vice of choice. But that pain will never completely go away unless you learn to deal with it.
The first part of that is allowing yourself to feel the pain. Once you go through that process, you’ll never want to return to rock bottom again.
Learn How to Forgive Yourself
As you start to make your slow, steady climb back from rock bottom, you may feel angry and disappointed with yourself. Before long, the anger and disappointment that you feel will turn to guilt and shame.
It’s impossible to avoid this altogether. But you can shed some of this guilt by learning how to forgive yourself.
Just because you may have engaged in reckless behavior in the past doesn’t mean you’re an awful person. It also doesn’t mean you’re incapable of changing. Remember, you’re someone who made bad choices. You’re not a bad person!
By forgiving yourself, you’ll allow yourself to move on from rock bottom quicker than you would be able to otherwise. It’s not easy to offer forgiveness to yourself, but you’ll see how helpful it can be.
Be Open to the Idea of Asking for Help
It’s rare to see someone hit rock bottom and bounce all the way back by themselves. More often than not, they need someone by their side to help them along the way.
If you need help, don’t be ashamed to ask. There’s no shame in turning to others for help when you need it most.
If you have a drinking or drug addiction, there are rehab centers that can provide you with help. There are also support groups that help people battle all sorts of demons.
Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to slip back into old patterns simply because you’re afraid to ask anyone for help. People will be a lot more open to assisting you than you might think.
Look for Things That Offer a Sense of Hope
Hitting rock bottom didn’t offer you much hope. But now that you’re committing to turning your life around, there must be something that will help you feel a sense of hope moving forward.
Do you want to:
- Go back to school and get a degree?
- Use your past struggles to teach others?
- Start a family with your spouse or partner?
You shouldn’t try to do a complete 180 overnight if you’ve struggled with a serious problem in the past. But there’s nothing wrong with trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel when you’re bouncing back from rock bottom.
Remember How It Felt to Hit Rock Bottom
When you first hit rock bottom, it’s an unmistakable feeling. There is no denying just how low and pathetic you feel.
But over time, it’s easy to lose sight of that feeling. You won’t always be able to put yourself back in the position you were in during your darkest days.
Do whatever you can to recapture the rock bottom feeling over the years. That feeling will serve as all the motivation you need to remain on the straight and narrow.
Hitting Rock Bottom Can Help You Turn Things Around
You aren’t the first person to hit rock bottom, and you won’t be the last person to do it, either. Hitting rock bottom is, unfortunately, a part of life for many people.
But there are some people who aren’t ever able to escape rock bottom. They have a hard time bouncing back from their past problems and aren’t able to reach their full potential.
Try not to be a person who refuses to change after hitting rock bottom. When you make the commitment to become a better person, you’ll feel good about yourself and experience the highest of highs.
Read our blog to learn more about living your best life and taking good care of yourself.