This stance tends to go hand in hand with a specific form of arrogance - an entrenched belief that one does not "need" other people or a Higher Power, particularly in terms of getting help from them. This is a rejection of our interdependence. These attitudes are common in most addictions, prior to recovery.
"HITTING BOTTOM"
It is not surprising, therefore, that for many addicts it requires "hitting bottom" to mark the beginning of the upward spiral of recovery.
The "bottom" is a wrenching, deeply emotional, often desperate awareness of one's own "powerlessness" in the face of addiction.
Shattering what has grown into a chronic state of denial, it is also described as a profound experience of "surrender" (sometimes referred to in AA as "the gift of despair"). And it is only at this moment that the addicted individuals - due to their high level of vulnerability - becomes "teachable," i.e., actually open to new learning.
The moment of "hitting bottom" is a most auspicious time for this awakening. As is said in the AA literature: "then and only then do we become" as willing to listen as the dying can be."
The AA program also compares alcoholism to a downward ride on an elevator, a ride which the alcoholic may exit at any floor. The bottom floor is death. What is essential, however, is the sense of utter ego deflation.
APPLICATION TO HUMANITY AS A WHOLE
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