Posted by Afther Hussain in Uncategorized

This attitude will bring immediate and practical results. You must first adopt attitudes and actions of being honest and sacrificing your time and energy to help yourself and other sufferers. Most examples of powerlessness in sobriety have to do with admitting that you cannot change your behaviors on your own. Getting help from others at a treatment facility and in peer recovery groups can benefit your sobriety.

These people and professionals can offer you the hope and encouragement you need to keep going. They can also provide practical assistance, such as helping you find resources or providing transportation to treatment. Remember, you are not alone in this battle – there are people who want to help you succeed.

Support for Me and My Family

I frequently remarked when life got tough, “This is why I drink.” The people around us have a stronger influence on our decisions and actions than we realize. Here’s what research reveals about our networks’ gravitational force. The morning after a night of excessive drinking can bring more than just a pounding headache and queasy stomach; it… We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses.

Any substance or activity can be considered an addiction–from drinking to video games, addictions alter your life. 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. Recovery is possible and healing will take place in mind, body, and spirit. Enlightened Recovery Solutions offers a holistic based, 12-step inspired, clinically proven program for alcoholism and co-occurring disorders.

Here’s what author and interventionist Jeff Jay has to say about Step One and being powerless:

Quite the contrary, being able to admit that you can’t drink makes you self-aware and honest. Knowing your limitations helps you to succeed and accomplish your goals. Rather, look at step one as knowing what you can and cannot handle.

Written by theologian Karl Niebuhr in the early 1930’s, the Serenity Prayer was adopted and adapted by Alcoholics Anonymous shortly after it published the Big Book. It begins, God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change – a reminder that there are some things in life we can’t control. The pandemic is one of them, as are natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, floods, earthquakes, etc.  We become helpless in the face of overpowering forces. We feel hopelessness and despair upon seeing loved ones taken and homes and property destroyed. Anxiety, panic, depression, and guilt are never far off during these times.

“Our sound reasoning failed to hold us in check. The insane idea won out.” (Big Book, Page

In this context, it means that someone feels like they don’t have any control over their life. They may feel like they have little choice but to continue using drugs or alcohol because they lack alternatives. You may tried to do so much hard work building up your willpower in your efforts at self-improvement. You may have tried to control your behavior under the influence, or cut back on use to a level that feels more reasonable.

• It’s no accident that 12 Step programs teach both powerlessness and complete abstinence.
• Step One AA emphasizes the futility of attempting to manage something that’s proven uncontrollable.
• We might be able to stave off our abuse from time to time, but we start drinking or using drugs again sooner than later.
• The person with the problem often lies about how much they drink and those around them may begin to cover for them as the problem progresses.

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.

Further, groups with trained leaders, such as AA sponsors, can positively promote substance abuse recovery. These include reducing isolation, providing a support system, and witnessing the healing of others. You might not be ready to take the first step at your first AA meeting, and that’s okay. It’s not easy to admit our inability resist alcohol or internal humiliation, but you’re not alone. If you want to reap the positive benefits of AA, you must accept your alcoholic abuse disorder and its consequences.

• I used to argue–especially when hospitalized–that taking a drink to calm down was no different than taking pills to calm down, much to the staff’s annoyance (Alcoholism and Mental Illness).
• So here are some ways to know if you are powerless over your addiction.
• Admitting powerlessness is essentially waving the white flag and recognizing that you cannot try to drink anymore.
• You are not as “in control” as you think you are, and it is admitting this that is the first step towards realizing you need help.

I wish all of you the best as you embark on the spiritual trip of a life time. Recognizing powerlessness over an addiction is the first step to freedom. When you recognize you are out of control, you can regain control. But by believing you have a problem, you can begin to powerless over alcohol overcome it. Sometimes substance use puts you in the hospital by causing legal problems and the cops take you there for a blood draw or to dry out. Sometimes substance use puts you in the hospital by causing physical problems such as alcohol poisoning or liver damage.

Powerlessness was our personal experience and the insight we reached after countless times of trying to moderate or quit. No matter how hopeless you may feel, there is always hope for a better tomorrow. Reach out for help and support from others who have been through what you are going through. These people can offer understanding and encouragement as you take steps to improve your life. Another way to overcome powerlessness is to get involved in your own treatment. Take an active role in choosing the treatment that you want to receive.