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He first had me think about all the things I lost due to my alcohol or drug use. So I did, and while I was mentally compiling that list I thought, “Damn, could all of this hurt and pain have been avoided if I had not been drinking or high? However, even though I had all these terrible things going on, I continued to drink thinking it’s not that bad or it would get better.
If your addiction altered your life, then it has the power–you are powerless over your addiction. Your answers to the following questions will help you decide if you’re powerless over your addiction. For many people, simply getting to the first step of AA is harder than any other part of the recovery process. In fact, you might need to experience a personal crisis before you feel ready to go to an AA meeting.
Get Help With Alcohol Addiction
You must first admit powerless over alcohol and be honest with yourself about the situation. Admitting powerlessness is essentially waving the white flag and recognizing that you cannot try to drink anymore. History has proven that you have no control once a drop of alcohol enters your body. If you can grasp this knowledge, you will become a recovering, strong person.
- At one time, our number one priority was to stay sober.
- If you justify your use of your addiction, you may be powerless over it.
- Going to the hospital was what finally got my attention–I ended up in the dual diagnosis unit of a state hospital in Richmond, Indiana.
- Admitting to being powerless over alcohol will help a person to recognize that he or she does not have control with their drinking.
- Accepting our powerlessness (complete defeat) is the bottom that an alcoholic and addict must hit.
- Try not to look at step one as admitting total defeat.
While it’s true that the concept of admitting powerlessness over a substance may seem to be at odds with efforts to hold addicts responsible for their behaviors, in fact, the opposite is true. By accepting the fact that you are powerless https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/what-are-sober-living-homes/ over alcohol, drugs or addictive behavior, you have come to terms with your personal limitations. Addiction treatment centers often talk about “powerless” as a way to describe the feeling of being unable to control one’s life.
Myth 2: Powerlessness Equates To Weakness
Our body begins to need the substance, and the choice to use is gone. And the only reason we believe it is still fun is because we are managing our body’s need for drugs and alcohol. Letting go of the past, accepting your present and opening yourself up to a new way of living isn’t an easy thing to do, especially in the beginning. The 12-step road to recovery can appear pretty intimidating to someone who is just starting out, but solutions exist.
But keeping your mistakes to yourself only makes it appear like you are in control when you’re not. Step one is fundamentally about honesty, while active addiction is characterized by lies you tell to yourself and everyone around you. Until you reach the point where you choose to get real, stop lying and accept that you need help, any efforts you make to deal with your addiction simply won’t be genuine or effective. The Narcotics Anonymous (NA) Big Book states that “we were powerless over our drug problem” as its first tenet. Like AA members, NA members believe they cannot control drugs without the help of a higher power.
Understanding Powerlessness
The original references to God were quickly challenged in the early days of AA, and Bill W. Addressed those challenges by explaining that every member was welcome to interpret God to mean whoever, or whatever, higher power they chose to believe in while working the steps. Continued to take powerless over alcohol personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. As the lines between real and fake blur, Americans increasingly chase the idea of authenticity. The first step may be to consider self-knowledge, truthfulness, and other building blocks on the road to personal growth.
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