On Hitting Bottom

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:1 NIV

It is common to hear people say that before someone can seriously undertake recovery from addiction they must “hit bottom.” But there are several problems with this. One is that we really don’t know when someone has hit bottom. Is it after they are charged with driving under the in luence, or when they find themselves homeless and living on the streets, or after they have overdosed and almost died? Even then, we can always wonder if there might be a “deeper” bottom. No one really knows where the bottom is, or if there might be many bottoms, or if the pit is literally bottomless. Another problem with this way of thinking, is that these so-called bottoms usually find us physically, emotionally, and spiritually weak, and it might be better to start our recovery with some reserves of energy. Rather than digging the whole even deeper, maybe we should start the work of recovery while we still have the resources to do so. People using drugs and alcohol are playing a dangerous game with their lives, and this idea that you have to hit bottom before you can recover and regain your health may encourage some to keep using and even to exacerbate their problems with increased consumption. God is there to help us at any and every point in our lives, and God is not waiting for us to “hit bottom” to help us. So whatever problems you are facing, start dealing with them today and use every means at your disposal to start recovering now! “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.