Step 1 of AA: Admitting You’re Powerless Over Alcohol

Allowing them to run the show prevents them from feeling the need to do anything differently. The addicted person may suffer losses, and depending on how they feel as the result, they may or may not stop because of it. Although the consequences of substance use have to outweigh the benefits in order to feel rock bottom, it still comes back to perception and rationalizing insanity. As you will see from some of these examples below, signs of reaching rock bottom are when things are becoming progressively worse. The problem is these things are often not enough, nor do they happen swiftly enough to bring the substance user to surrender. The average person believes the rock bottom is a loss of things, such as jobs, family, finances, home, etc.

Be as honest as you can, starting with early examples and then going to the most recent. Step One on your recovery path is surrendering into the reality of the situation that you have lost your power and are willing to get help. We cannot start to change what is happening unless we can admit to what is going on. When you surrender to the reality that you have become powerless over the substance then change is possible. From this point, you are able to accept the situation as it is.

Recovery Advocacy

I finally understood what an alcoholic and addict really is. I saw that I was worse than I knew, but understanding the problem helped me accept the solution. At one time, our number one priority was to stay sober. Today with the understanding of powerless, our number one priority is our relationship with our creator and how we can best serve. Unmanageability describes how that problem has affected your life. When we become helpless to unmanaged family, work, finances, health, or relationships, we experience a real sense of powerlessness.

If you or someone you love struggles to manage their drug and alcohol addiction, it is vital to seek drug addiction treatment. Our comprehensive treatment programs and addiction specialists at Lighthouse Recovery Institute can help you find the right path to recovery. Recovery is possible and healing will take place https://ecosoberhouse.com/ in mind, body, and spirit. Enlightened Recovery Solutions offers a holistic based, 12-step inspired, clinically proven program for alcoholism and co-occurring disorders. Call (844) 234-LIVE today for information on our partial care programs. In essence, you are making a conscious choice to stop lying to yourself.

What’s the Difference Between Powerlessness and Unmanageability?

Addiction treatment centers discuss the concept of powerlessness in therapy to help people recover. Many people with an addiction to alcohol feel guilt, low self-esteem, and shame. When a person admits that alcohol is affecting his or her life, they can start recovery. The first step is about powerlessness over behavior that makes the individual’s life unmanageable.

Even when we consider the natural disasters cited above, we well know that not everyone bears the brunt of those forces of nature. Only those unfortunate enough to be in the path of destruction suffer the effects of powerlessness. By way of illustration, imagine for a moment, a group of people who live on an annual floodplain. Every year the raging waters rise, steal away loved ones, and obliterate all they worked so hard to build. They suffer desperation and hopelessness, and they further feel shame and guilt for not having prevented catastrophic loss of life and property. But, what about their neighbors who live on higher ground, above the plain?

Take the first step!

When we admit that we are powerless over alcohol or drugs, we admit that we are living with a disease that alters the chemical makeup of the brain. Someone suffering from this disease did not make a choice to powerless over alcohol go too far and lose control, and they are not inherently lacking in values or good character. Powerlessness over addiction can be difficult to overcome, but it is possible with the right help and support.

If you still believe that you have some sort of control over your drinking, you will drink again. Once you relinquish control, you are well on your way to mastering step one. The impact of drugs and alcohol on your body over time renders your natural brain functions and mechanisms powerless.