Bouncing Back After Hitting Rock Bottom

No matter where you are in life, there's always a way back on track, which is why it's important to never give up – even if you've hit rock bottom yourself. Whether it starts at home, whether it starts with alcohol, bail bonds, or addiction – everyone has their lowest point, and you can come back from it.

It's important that you understand that no matter where you are in life, or what you've experienced, you can absolutely turn things around and start working towards a life that you're happy with. There's no such thing as being too lost, as long as you're willing to work on it.

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Accept your situation
If you're going to start working on things and get your life back together, then you need to first acknowledge what's happened. You can't fix anything if you're not going to fully identify what the problem is, and acceptance is always going to be the first step. If you make half-measures when trying to find a solution, it's just going to leave you falling back into the same mess that you're trying to leave.

Accepting the situation and facing the music is one of the hardest parts of bouncing back, as it's often met with an emotional realization of what you've done. It can be hard to face that and keep pushing through it.

For some, accepting the situation could mean realizing that your position isn't the fault of others. Some people feel like blame makes it easier for them to handle, and it's often used as a coping mechanism unintentionally, but it's not going to help you find the right way to recover. Accepting responsibility for these events is a significant step in recovering and bettering yourself – else you're not going to fix what you perceive others to have caused.

Accept yourself
A lot of the reason that people make the decisions they do is because of how they value themselves and their life. If you don't hold yourself to a high degree, it's going to prevent you from trying to better yourself – after all, why should you? Well, if you can't see that you're worth the time and effort, then you're going to have a difficult time recovering from your current situation.

Think about your qualities, what you can and can't do, and realize that you're just like everybody else. No one is particularly special, and you shouldn't put yourself below others just because you feel otherwise.

Seek help
Oftentimes, it can take a lot of strength to admit that even though you got to where you are on alone, you can't handle doing things on your own. Things like addiction can be very difficult to break out of, and you absolutely shouldn't try to break out of them alone if you don't feel like you can. A rehabilitation center can help you turn your life around and prevent you from rebounding back to your old habits.

It's not just addictions, but mental health can also be too large a hurdle to get past. Living with depression, anxiety, and guilt can all put a huge mental block on your abilities, and sometimes therapy is the best way to help you get through it.

If you have loved ones who are interested in helping you, you should consider letting them. A lot of the reason that some individuals never see change is because they don't have someone behind them cheering them on. However, you should note that supporting someone in this way can be impossible if the other individual doesn't want their help.

Knowing that you're not alone in this battle is often something that helps to motivate others, and your story could help to empower other people in the same position. Going to group therapy or talks where you can share your story or just listen can help you to see that you're not fighting on your own and that there are others who have had similar or worse experiences and actively trying to better themselves. So while you may not be optimistic on your own journey, seeing others may give you extra motivation.

Medication is also a valid form of health when it comes to ditching these mental health problems or addictions. Simply trying to handle it yourself isn't always the answer, and the side-affects can be far too risky to do without medication that's been prescribed to you. You should consider seeing a healthcare professional over your problem to find the best solution for you. Oftentimes if medication isn't the answer, they will refer you to another professional who can help to get you out of your situation. Medication won't solve your problem, but it should make it easier to handle if you're looking to actually help yourself – which is essential before you can fix anything.

Realize what you're missing
You need some form of motivation to help you spring back on track, and often it's once you realize what life could be if you were moving in the right direction. If you've got the idea that there's nothing worth coming back to, then it's going to be hard to make that push – especially when you have no idea what you're working hard for.

Start to think of how you want your life to pan out, but remember to be realistic, because those smaller milestones are going to play a large role in making sure you're still motivated. We need these small accomplishments to give us that sense of progress, so make sure that you're making your goals achievable while you're working towards them.

Even something as simple as finding somewhere cheap to stay and landing a job – no matter the pay – can make a world of difference, and these are things to be proud of. Even if everything you've ever experienced could be perceived as better than that, it's a goal worth celebrating, so don't forget to do that. When you've hit rock bottom, any step in the right direction is a great step.

Identify the bad habits
It's usually more than just one decision that leads you down a bad path in life, and even if you manage to give up your addiction, there could be other bad habits that you still need to kick. If you're going to make progress and prevent yourself from falling back into it, you need to make sure that you've identified all of your bad habits. That's not to say you have to become perfect, but there are often multiple negative influences that can cause you to make bad decisions.

It could be that you have toxic relationships with friends or family that you should consider cutting out of your life so that they don't push you towards negativity in the future. It could be your perspective on life that lead you down the route that you took, in which case it would be time to evaluate how you see things. Growing up in a negative environment could easily cloud your vision of the world, and you need to surround yourself with others who carry a positive mindset to change that.

Learn to express yourself
Keeping everything bottled up inside can lead you to make poor decisions, and that's because when you leave your emotions unchecked, they start to take control when you're feeling overwhelmed. If you've got a lot of anger built up inside, it will lead you to do something stupid – and many have in the past. Whether it's shouting, saying something you wish you hadn't, or even acting in violence, it's not a healthy response.

If you know how to better express your emotions, then you can properly handle and process your emotions as they're coming, rather than letting them take over in your worst moments. These kinds of communication techniques can be learned through therapy to help you to better maintain your relationships with others, as well.

A healthier lifestyle
If you've spent a long time leading an unhealthy lifestyle, whether it be improper sleep, poor eating habits, and not enough exercise, you can expect to feel awful throughout each day. If you're used to that, you might not remember how it actually feels to be healthy and capable. These things can affect your mood, your health, and your mental wellbeing, and they're something you should start working on immediately.

Before you start to cut things out, you should put more focus on making sure that you're getting enough nutrition during the day. Once you know what you should be eating, you can begin to make sure you're not eating too much. The same goes for exercise. Don't try to overdo it on the first try, as you'll only set yourself back for a few days and ruin your motivation.

It's about replacing your negative habits with healthy ones that will create a happier life for you. These habits will see you feeling better on a daily basis, and they will help you to stay in a positive and motivated mindset.