Intro
A few years ago, my life plummeted to Rock Bottom. For a couple of years, I was a high-functioning addict. I held down my job, whilst using multiple substances to help me escape my problems. Some of them, daily. However, this all began to change during the Covid lockdowns. My mental health deteriorated rapidly, and my addictions grew out of control. I stopped showing up for work, sometimes not even calling in sick. I then had a seizure. This ultimately lost me my job as I had to forfeit my driving license. I realized I was at Rock Bottom. The actions I’d taken over the last few years had put my life on a downward trajectory. Of course, at the time I didn’t think my actions would take me there. However, I had to ask myself, how can I overcome Rock Bottom?
In this blog post, I’m going share 5 tips on how to overcome rock bottom, that I used. I didn’t immediately hit Rock Bottom and flip my life around. It took me a few months to realize where I was at and to stop blaming others for my life. Once I had achieved this it allowed me to focus on taking positive action to improve my situation. I want to share these steps with you, so you can avoid the procrastination I had when my life was at its lowest. I want to give you an insight into what I did to overcome Rock Bottom, to arm you with tools you can use for yourself.
If you can hit rock bottom, you can bounce back!
When you hit Rock Bottom, it kind of slaps you in the face. It forces you to look at your life to understand how you got there. Initially, you might try and blame other people. I did. I blamed the shit that had happened to me in the past, on why I chose to make the decisions I did and fuck up my life. But ultimately, it was all my doing. Now, this is a hard truth to face. But a necessary one, if you’re to overcome Rock Bottom. Your life is a direct result, of your actions. Nobody else. Once you realize this, your journey upwards can begin.
If you can take yourself to Rock Bottom, you can sure as hell climb your way back out of there. I’m not going to sugar-coat this and tell you that it’s going to be easy, as it won’t. You’re going to need some determination, perseverance, and a touch of discipline. You’re going to have bad days, but you’re also going fucking great ones. And the lessons you will learn on this journey will change your life forever.
5 tips on how to overcome rock bottom
1. Accept where you are in life
Like I’ve just mentioned it took me months to accept that I was at Rock Bottom. The months I spent in denial and procrastinating about my situation, hindered my progress. I didn’t want to believe my life was at a serious low point as that was incredibly hard to admit to myself. But, not accepting where you are in life only keeps your situation the same. You stick with old habits and old ways of thinking, that you know aren’t doing you any good.
When you accept where you are in life, it can feel like a breath of fresh air. Rather than avoiding the negativity in your life and avoiding certain thoughts and feelings. You accept where you are, and wherever you are is okay. It does not matter if you’re at Rock Bottom. Accepting where you are in life allows you to start developing a mindset in which you can grow and change your situation. It fixes a point in time in which you can improve and begin your journey upwards. You’re finally admitting to yourself that things aren’t as good as they could be. And there is no shame in that. Being truthful to yourself is an incredibly noble thing to do. You should be incredibly proud of yourself for taking the first step.
2. Take ownership of your life
Again, this concept took me a while to understand, and until I did it kept me stuck where I was. While I kept blaming others for how my life was, I had a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset is incredibly difficult to grow from. Once I took ownership of my life, I was able to adopt a growth mindset. I was able to look at my life and understand that if I’d got myself to this position, I could also get myself out of it. It allowed me to look at areas of my life that needed drastic improvement to get my journey away from rock bottom started.
When you take ownership of your life, it means you understand you’re responsible for the way your life is. Shit may have happened to you in the past that was unfair, but shit happens to everyone. Owning that shit allows you to move on and grow from it. Ultimately, the way your life is, is a direct result of your actions. Nobody else’s. Realising this allows you to understand that no one is coming to save you. You’ve got to save yourself. If you want to make a change in your life, it’s on you to take action and change it!
3. Focus on one area of improvement at a time
This step was crucial for my recovery journey. Multiple times I tried to change too much at once. It had adverse effects. I ended up resorting back to old ways and habits. When you try to change too much at once, it can become extremely overwhelming and too uncomfortable. Before you know it, you’re back in your old ways, doing the things you set out to change. I experienced this several times before I began to focus on one area of improvement.
Focusing on one area of improvement at a time makes it much easier to build consistent momentum. And once you’ve got that momentum you can really start to improve. Yes, there may be multiple areas of life in which you need to improve. But who said it was a race? When you focus on one improvement you can take the time to really understand and learn from it. It also makes it a lot easier to carry on taking the steps after that. The power of one improvement at a time, should not be underestimated. Be patient with yourself and be proud of any step you take in the right direction. Small consistent improvements, compound to huge results over time.
4. Understand you’ll have set backs, and that’s okay!
Like I mentioned in the intro, you’re going to have good and bad days. During my journey away from Rock Bottom, I had shit loads of setbacks. I suffered lapses with my addictions. And had days where my mental health felt worse then ever. But with each setback I overcame, I learnt more and grew even stronger. I didn’t let the setbacks hold me back for long. I saw them as obstacles that I had to get over. Initially I would crash through the obstacles. But as time went on and I gained momentum, I was able to climb over them with more ease each time.
Understanding you’ll have setbacks is important. It’s also important to understand and believe, that these setbacks will not hold you back for long. Life’s journey is not easy for anyone, nor should it be. Every challenge we face and overcome, allows us to grow stronger and stronger. As we build that internal strength, each challenge we face becomes easier to overcome. Rather than getting defeated by a setback and adopting the fixed mindset of ‘I’ll never be able to get through this’. Pause for moment, to look at the situation and see what you can learn from it.
5. Check in with yourself
When I had got my journey away from rock bottom started, checking in with myself became very important to my progress. It allowed me to take some time to reflect and appreciate how far I’d come. It also allowed me to further understand where I was at and set some aims for the progress, I wanted to make next. I would do a mini weekly check in and a bigger check in at the end of the month. I made the process simple and easy, so I wouldn’t avoid doing it. I would ask questions like:
- What have I been working towards this month?
- What’s gone well this month?
- What am I proud of this month?
- What has not gone well this month?
- What could I do better next month?
When you begin to take action to improve your life, it’s so easy to get caught up in what you’re doing. You don’t think you’ve made any progress at all. Taking the time to check in with yourself, gives you time to reflect and appreciate how far you’ve come. You should be incredibly proud. Even taking the time to check in with yourself is a huge amount of progress. Take the time now to set a reminder, to check in with yourself at the end of the month. You’ve got this!
Conclusion
Your recovery from rock bottom is not a race or a competition. Take each step at your own pace and be incredibly proud of any progress you make. Don’t feel defeated if you face any setbacks. They’re apart of the journey too. Each setback you overcome, will make you stronger! Always focus on one area of improvement at time. Keep it simple and do not overwhelm yourself.
I hope from reading this you’ve gained a valuable insight into some steps I took to help me recover from rock bottom. Although my life is no longer at Rock Bottom, my journey is nowhere near over. The lessons I learnt from hitting Rock Bottom have stayed with me forever. They have fueled my desire to continue to learn about ways I can improve my life and share what I’ve learnt, with you.
Remember, the only way is up!