I have heard this over and over "They (the addict) have to hit rock bottom before they will go for help or a loved one can help them."
But I was curious to know what a addict's rock bottom is and what if the rock bottom seems to be death, I am just looking for someone to shed the light on this Rock Bottom Statement? I posted this on another board in response to a post..
My heart aches for you and all the others that are in this ordeal.. And I am not trying to be negative here just wanting answers myself to this crazy situation.. But what excatly is rock bottom????? I have not a clue what that is.. I know I see my sister at rock bottom now and nothing is making her try to clean herself up... She has no help from family members, she is homeless, she has no transportation, no medical insurance, no phone, no nothing and has been that way for 2 + years now... She lives on the street oh I forgot she does have a pimp that works her out on the streets and helps her get her next high as long as she works these truck stops and he will continue to do that until she is dead and can make him any income.. So where is the rock bottom in that other than Death??? I am not angry at anyone on this board about this so I hope this is not coming across bad to anyone it is not my intentions at all.. I just keep hearing that they have to hit rock bottom and in some cases rock bottom is the end, death and I don't want her to hit that at all. I want to get her out of this and before that time.. Can anyone give me an answer to this rock bottom statement and let me know if they really have to hit rock bottom before they can be helped cause in this case I feel that it will be death in her case. And that is too late for help.. I hope this is not taken out of context and I hope that some one can give me an answer to this...
Kristi
..Boggsy..
..I think people use the term Rock Bottom as having no where else to turn or no one else to turn to ?..everyones rock bottom so to speak is mostly different from another addicts rock bottom..personally my rock bottom was just having enough of doing gear and everything that went with having to get money to score it and all the hanging about for hours at times waiting for the dealer to turn up, i never had no sexual encounters to get money to score, but i did have enough of thieving, begging and the last 3 years of my addiction, touting travel cards and touting concert tickets ?..basically just got pissed off with the whole lot of it, so that was my "Rock Bottom"..and compared to others rock bottom i've read on here..mine was nowhere near as bad ?..so as you say..wot is rock bottom ?..i think just basically hitting a wall with nowhere to turn, or another way to explain it wud be, in the bottom of hole and they can't get out..maybe sumone else will come along with a bit more info..Robbie..
..I think people use the term Rock Bottom as having no where else to turn or no one else to turn to ?..everyones rock bottom so to speak is mostly different from another addicts rock bottom..personally my rock bottom was just having enough of doing gear and everything that went with having to get money to score it and all the hanging about for hours at times waiting for the dealer to turn up, i never had no sexual encounters to get money to score, but i did have enough of thieving, begging and the last 3 years of my addiction, touting travel cards and touting concert tickets ?..basically just got pissed off with the whole lot of it, so that was my "Rock Bottom"..and compared to others rock bottom i've read on here..mine was nowhere near as bad ?..so as you say..wot is rock bottom ?..i think just basically hitting a wall with nowhere to turn, or another way to explain it wud be, in the bottom of hole and they can't get out..maybe sumone else will come along with a bit more info..Robbie..
everyones rock bottom is different and for some its death or the reach death before hitting rock bottomfor me it was the same as your sisters minus the prostitution(although that was probably up next on my agenda) and I lived that way for three years--i think i responded to you maybe on the other topic but ill say it again--you just gotta be ther for her --tough love is what its about--tell her positive things and also how her doing this effects you love her show her you love her go see her as much as you can(if you can handle it) write her letterd (dont give her $) dont bail her out of jail if she needs a ride--only to detox or treatment give her info on ways out dont give up on her cuz thats what her addiction wants--dont try to convice her whats going on is wrong or whatever--she knows all you can do is show her love givce her options as to a way out(cannot live with you unless she goes to treatment) go to ALANON look it up at the local AA halls-keep us posted
Kristi rock bottom for me was sitting in my house with no leccy, no food, thoughts of suicide all alone. Couldn't go anywhere cos everyone was sick of me stealing, asking for money, on the take all the time.Nobody trusting me, all my (mates) were just like me ...users. Not a good way to live. Looking back on that time of my life now i realise it was total f****ing misery- don't want to ever go back there, cos the next time i might not survive it mentally. It is diffrent for everyone. A girl that uis close to me asked me in a text a few weeks ago " do you think i'll need to hit rock bottom" (before she stops taking H).
It's diffrent for everyone some need to go throough a lot worse, others not as much, it just depends if you are sick of it enough.Wishing you well,Take it easy, Kev
It's diffrent for everyone some need to go throough a lot worse, others not as much, it just depends if you are sick of it enough.Wishing you well,Take it easy, Kev
Kristi,
My heart breaks for you.
Anyway, I don't think any of us here take too much like you're saying you're not being negative or blaming us......we been called things, and judged, and looked down upon........it's part of the whole thing so speaking only for me......naw, I take no offense.
Kev's rock bottom is not your sisters.........your sisters isn't mine.........Amity's isn't Robbie's..........Kev's friend she don't even know what hers is yet.
My girlfriend posts here........hers was trying to commit suicide........she couldn't stand it anymore..........her using buddies well me I went to a detox......other girl was having a baby pretty soon and had to get on methadone....the guy turned her on to heroin.......he up and moved to a mountain.........her shame and guilt ate her alive.........and thank God she was not successful.........BUT she almost killed herself............and meantime we were killing ourselves every single day........my friend got over three years clean, is a grammy, works her butt off, and does everyhting for her kids........and other people........always giving.
Mine was shame..........having my own mother say NO MORE.......telling me to give her the key to our house............so sad knowing I'm a good person with so much potential..........that pain on her face was awful..........and of course stealing, begging, lies, and having almost every person who loves me look at me with PITY.....pure PITY!
It's a hard, hard, hard life your sister is living........she Blessed to have you care and like Amity said.........no money, no bail, no nothing except being there for her and helping her when she wants to do this.
My heart breaks for you.
Anyway, I don't think any of us here take too much like you're saying you're not being negative or blaming us......we been called things, and judged, and looked down upon........it's part of the whole thing so speaking only for me......naw, I take no offense.
Kev's rock bottom is not your sisters.........your sisters isn't mine.........Amity's isn't Robbie's..........Kev's friend she don't even know what hers is yet.
My girlfriend posts here........hers was trying to commit suicide........she couldn't stand it anymore..........her using buddies well me I went to a detox......other girl was having a baby pretty soon and had to get on methadone....the guy turned her on to heroin.......he up and moved to a mountain.........her shame and guilt ate her alive.........and thank God she was not successful.........BUT she almost killed herself............and meantime we were killing ourselves every single day........my friend got over three years clean, is a grammy, works her butt off, and does everyhting for her kids........and other people........always giving.
Mine was shame..........having my own mother say NO MORE.......telling me to give her the key to our house............so sad knowing I'm a good person with so much potential..........that pain on her face was awful..........and of course stealing, begging, lies, and having almost every person who loves me look at me with PITY.....pure PITY!
It's a hard, hard, hard life your sister is living........she Blessed to have you care and like Amity said.........no money, no bail, no nothing except being there for her and helping her when she wants to do this.
Mine was pretty much the same as all before me- - throw in a bunch of trips to the county jails & court dates that seem like they,ll never end.
I think just when you tell yourself" Man,it cant get any worse"- and then it does!- you pretty much have bottomed out.
I think just when you tell yourself" Man,it cant get any worse"- and then it does!- you pretty much have bottomed out.
that was me who just posted that- - Im not sure how "justin" my kids name got placed in there
I would say rock bottom is when your life is cr*p, you have nothing, nobody, no where to live AND you life depends on something you just cant afford and thats when you hurt people and steal from them only to make you body feel better??
I agree that everyones rock bottom is different xx
I agree that everyones rock bottom is different xx
OK WITH THAT BEING SAID ABOUT ROCK BOTTOME BEING YOU HAVE NOTHING NO HELP AND NO PLACE TO LIVE.. IF MY SISTER IS AT THAT POINT AND HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. THEN IS DEATH THE ONLY THING THAT CAN BE HER ROCK BOTTOM. AND IF WHERE SHE IS AT NOW WHICH IN MY EYES IS ROCK BOTTOM AM I TO LET HER DO JUST THAT AND DIE.. I JUST GET CONFUSED CAUSE PEOPLE HAVE STATED THAT THEY MUST HIT ROCK BOTTOM TO GET HELP AND FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THAT HELP.. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT SOME OF THESE ROCK BOTTOMS ARE TO LATE TO GET HELP AND WHAT DO YOU DO IN THOSE SITUATIONS?? I KNOW THAT I HAVE COME TO SOME PEACE TODAY WITH ALL OF THIS DUE TO THAT ANSWERED PRAYER I RECEIVED THIS MORNING AND I AM GOING TO LEARN DAY BY DAY WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN OVER THIS.. I AM GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE GOTTEN TODAY BUT STILL I HAVE THESE QUESTIONS OF THE INS AND OUTS OF THIS DREADFUL DISEASE CALLED ADDICTION... THANKS AGAIN FOR YOU ALL POSTING ON HERE IN RESPONSE TO MY CRAZY OUTBURST AND STUPID QUESTIONS.....
KRISTI
KRISTI
..Boggys..
..The thing with your sister and where shes at is a horrible place to be in regarding her addiction..but with you giving her all the help you can..the thing is she has to want to get help herself and to also help herself and want to stop..family/partners of addicts can go to the end of the earth to help their loved ones..but it would'nt stop the addict from using..all you can do is keep trying and supporting her as i know from wot i've read that your not gonna give up on her..and i do hope she can find the stength to get herself free of her addiction and situation and getting her life back..good luck to both of you..Robbie..
..The thing with your sister and where shes at is a horrible place to be in regarding her addiction..but with you giving her all the help you can..the thing is she has to want to get help herself and to also help herself and want to stop..family/partners of addicts can go to the end of the earth to help their loved ones..but it would'nt stop the addict from using..all you can do is keep trying and supporting her as i know from wot i've read that your not gonna give up on her..and i do hope she can find the stength to get herself free of her addiction and situation and getting her life back..good luck to both of you..Robbie..
THANKS ROBBIE!! I AM CURIOUS , WAS THERE EVER ONE THING THAT YOU GUYS RECALL THAT MADE YOU TAKE A STEP BACK AND REALIZE THAT YOU WANTED HELP? WAS THERE ANY ONE THING THAT STANDS OUT THAT SOMEONE SAID TO YOU THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE???
..Boggsy..
..For me personally, aswell as the other stuff i said in my first post above was my son..in 2002 he was diagnosed with leukeamia..while he was going thru his treatment and watching him and other kids more or less fighting for their lives was heartbreaking..and there was me taking my life for granted smoking heroin..it tore me in two seeing kids not even old enough to talk properly or paralysed for life going thru painful treatment..and at times all i was thinking, i need to go and score ?.f*** how selfish is that ?..but that was the addict in me..but from that day my son was diagnosed..i vowled to stop doing gear (it took me 3 yrs to stop-dec 05)..but it was'nt just that, i was sick n tired of doing it and everything that went with scoring it..i thought about the reasons i needed to stop (loads of reasons) and to stay on it (not one reason could i think of)..it became a love/hate thing..i hated doing it but i needed it..the cravings for it would tap away at my head like a woodpecker until i scored some..there were days when i had to/needed to go score whil my son wanted me to stay by his hospital bed (we more or less lived there in the first few months), i would lie to him and say i'll be back in 10 mins..sumtimes i took 2-3 hours to score..i felt so f***ing horrible and unfit to be a caring father..but thats wot heroin did to me..it made me make decisions that hurt loved ones..anyway enough rambling..i just got so sick and tired with it all boggsy amongst other things and managed to find the strength to get off it and stay off it..but it was definately my son and wot he went thru and also looking ahead to his future that clicked in my head to get me off gear..hope this someway explains to ya that heroin is such a strong drug and has such a hold on addicts..that they will use it wotever their circumstances..take care..Robbie..
..Edit to say..My son is in remission and is doing real well in life..that also makes the difference in keeping me off it..
..For me personally, aswell as the other stuff i said in my first post above was my son..in 2002 he was diagnosed with leukeamia..while he was going thru his treatment and watching him and other kids more or less fighting for their lives was heartbreaking..and there was me taking my life for granted smoking heroin..it tore me in two seeing kids not even old enough to talk properly or paralysed for life going thru painful treatment..and at times all i was thinking, i need to go and score ?.f*** how selfish is that ?..but that was the addict in me..but from that day my son was diagnosed..i vowled to stop doing gear (it took me 3 yrs to stop-dec 05)..but it was'nt just that, i was sick n tired of doing it and everything that went with scoring it..i thought about the reasons i needed to stop (loads of reasons) and to stay on it (not one reason could i think of)..it became a love/hate thing..i hated doing it but i needed it..the cravings for it would tap away at my head like a woodpecker until i scored some..there were days when i had to/needed to go score whil my son wanted me to stay by his hospital bed (we more or less lived there in the first few months), i would lie to him and say i'll be back in 10 mins..sumtimes i took 2-3 hours to score..i felt so f***ing horrible and unfit to be a caring father..but thats wot heroin did to me..it made me make decisions that hurt loved ones..anyway enough rambling..i just got so sick and tired with it all boggsy amongst other things and managed to find the strength to get off it and stay off it..but it was definately my son and wot he went thru and also looking ahead to his future that clicked in my head to get me off gear..hope this someway explains to ya that heroin is such a strong drug and has such a hold on addicts..that they will use it wotever their circumstances..take care..Robbie..
..Edit to say..My son is in remission and is doing real well in life..that also makes the difference in keeping me off it..
I still agree that there is nothing that you can do to defeat this disease. It has to be the choice of the addict and nothing that you can or will do will change that. Me being on the same end as you....I literally cant change or do anything more than support him and just let him know that I am here for him when he needs me. I know you feel helpless watching them give thier life away to this drug but unfortunately I dont think there is anything specific to stop an addict other than what is in thier head.
Some say they have to hit rock bottom before they can climb up, sometimes even rock bottom is not good enough. It just depends on the person. Some have a reality check and realise, others dont care. No cure and no answers.
xx
Some say they have to hit rock bottom before they can climb up, sometimes even rock bottom is not good enough. It just depends on the person. Some have a reality check and realise, others dont care. No cure and no answers.
xx
I have a cure but it would be inhumane I am sure!! I would love nothing more than to chain her in a locked room and keep her there until she was clean and level headed to be able to make a correct decision.. I think that there should be a way to lock these people that addictions up.. I would pay for that for my sister hell I would even be willing to forcefully bring her in... I know that an adult can't be kept without their constent but seems to be that it is different when they are usuing these mind altering drugs and are not thinking correctly... I mean some of these people I am sure don't even realize the danger then are in.. I thought on my way home from Birmingham that night about going and knocking her upside head and just bringing her home and forcing her to get the help.. Crazy huh!!!!
..Boggsy..
..Maybe you could lock up her body..but ya can't lock up her mind ?..thats the worst part of addiction i think, the psychological part..withdrawals are horrendous as i said..but they go after a few days ( 3-5 )..but the mental part can last a lifetime..is she strong enough do ya think to stay away from it if she got the help and support she needs ?..i sincerly hope she would be strong enough..Robbie..
..Maybe you could lock up her body..but ya can't lock up her mind ?..thats the worst part of addiction i think, the psychological part..withdrawals are horrendous as i said..but they go after a few days ( 3-5 )..but the mental part can last a lifetime..is she strong enough do ya think to stay away from it if she got the help and support she needs ?..i sincerly hope she would be strong enough..Robbie..
You know before these 7 years that I have not seen her I would have said Yes she is mental strong enough but now I have no clue!!! I know that her mental state is way off the charts, I mean she is selling her body to get her drugs that seems to be pretty distrubing to me... But I am in hopes that she will be!!! Thanks for your post you and the others are of gret help to me....
I've been keeping up on your posts about your sister. My DOC was not Heroin but everyone is the same when it comes to finding the moment that you cannot tolerate using any longer.
My bottom wasn't nearly as severe as many people. I got out of addiction fairly unscathed but the emotional wreckage is something I'm still dealing with. I think many addicts stay in active addiction because they feel that, reversing the damage they've done to themselves and others is a task that they can't handle. They believe that it's reasonable for people to give up on them because of their behavior. It really is a never ending cycle. The addict used drugs in order to deal with overwhelming circumstances. The drugs make everything worse, not better. They have to use again to tolerate the mess they've made while using. My best advice to you is to let your sister know that, no matter how far she sinks, no matter how messed up she gets, you love her and you'll help her make sense of her life if and when she decides to get help. There might be damage and it'll take time and work to repair it but, it's NEVER to late for an addict to live a life without drugs. You let her know that YOU won't give up believing in her. Maybe, just maybe that will be enough until she can believe in herself.
I admire you for not giving up on your sister. Whatever happens, I hope someday, she'll know how much she's loved.
~Callie~
My bottom wasn't nearly as severe as many people. I got out of addiction fairly unscathed but the emotional wreckage is something I'm still dealing with. I think many addicts stay in active addiction because they feel that, reversing the damage they've done to themselves and others is a task that they can't handle. They believe that it's reasonable for people to give up on them because of their behavior. It really is a never ending cycle. The addict used drugs in order to deal with overwhelming circumstances. The drugs make everything worse, not better. They have to use again to tolerate the mess they've made while using. My best advice to you is to let your sister know that, no matter how far she sinks, no matter how messed up she gets, you love her and you'll help her make sense of her life if and when she decides to get help. There might be damage and it'll take time and work to repair it but, it's NEVER to late for an addict to live a life without drugs. You let her know that YOU won't give up believing in her. Maybe, just maybe that will be enough until she can believe in herself.
I admire you for not giving up on your sister. Whatever happens, I hope someday, she'll know how much she's loved.
~Callie~
I posted on this subject on another thread you started, Kristi. Before I saw this one, I mean.
Robbie always being profound........that's so right.......ya can't lock up the mind.
Kristi, my dad physically locked me up.........barricaded me in a room........and I was flipping........already getting sick...........and I was yelling "I need to go to the bathroom I'm getting sick".........unbarricaded..........threw a bucket in at me.
Lock, lock, shut, shut.
By day 12..........oh when I was able to even somehow brush my teeth and comb my hair.........he went with me everywhere.......my dad was a cop......he knew it took two seconds..........I had no phone........made my mom go into the bathroom with me and that was after day 4 when the bucket went.......well Day 12......I went as Diff would say "Tatty bye byes"..........as he waited for me to come out of an appointment...........he was out in the car..........I asked to leave from the back...........BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, that's how that rolls......at least until she wants it.
Kristi, my dad physically locked me up.........barricaded me in a room........and I was flipping........already getting sick...........and I was yelling "I need to go to the bathroom I'm getting sick".........unbarricaded..........threw a bucket in at me.
Lock, lock, shut, shut.
By day 12..........oh when I was able to even somehow brush my teeth and comb my hair.........he went with me everywhere.......my dad was a cop......he knew it took two seconds..........I had no phone........made my mom go into the bathroom with me and that was after day 4 when the bucket went.......well Day 12......I went as Diff would say "Tatty bye byes"..........as he waited for me to come out of an appointment...........he was out in the car..........I asked to leave from the back...........BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, that's how that rolls......at least until she wants it.
For my guy, drugs are a way of life...different drugs for different social situations and he can't imagine life without them. He bounces from a high to a low...by that I mean...he hits a place where he wants to move up and sorts himself out a bit...then he has a relapse for some reason or another...up and down...but as yet never up and up...as yet he has not ever reached a point where he wants off the stuff for good.
Maybe he never will.
Hoping for you that things improve...
Love, Maddy x
Maybe he never will.
Hoping for you that things improve...
Love, Maddy x
