The Myth of Rock Bottom When You’re High-Functioning

Rock Bottom -  You’re all familiar with the concept. You see it in movies, all over television, and we read it in books. Someone’s life is spiraling out of control - they are getting DUIs, getting arrested, getting fired, going to prison – and when they are at their all-time low, they land at their rock bottom moment and decide they have to change their lives. The problem with this picture of addiction and rock bottom is – it doesn’t leave space for all of you that haven’t had any of those consequences. It doesn’t give you, the high-functioning person, an opportunity to see yourself and see how you fit in sobriety and what your path might look like. To be clear, not everyone destroys their lives before getting sober. You can be living a life with a nice roof over your head, a job, relationship, kids, drinking a latte and working out regularly and still have a substance problem. You may even relate to my situation where I was a little bit of both – I had some tragic moments that definitely got my attention – but the truth is, I was totally high-functioning. I made plenty of money. I lived in a beautiful home. I had an expensive car and a Louis Vuitton handbag. And none of those things had any impact on my drinking problem. It did allow me to avoid the seriousness of my problem and continue putting off taking action. Unfortunately, when it comes to understanding “rock-bottom,” there’s a lot more misconception than truth. You may know my guest from The Sober Friends Podcast – Matt J is with me to talk about what ‘rock bottom’ looks like, when you’re a high-functioning person.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Book A Call With Angela: addictionunlimited.com/call Sober Friends Podcast: https://www.soberfriendspod.com/   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to keep moving forward to the recovery lifestyle they want.  Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!