Understanding Powerlessness

Through companionship, mutual respect, and shared experiences, AA members come together to maintain abstinence from alcohol and build sober lives. If you’re passionate about putting a halt to your alcohol consumption, AA membership is available to you. AA support groups are accessible and free, without any age or education requirements. 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. Your sobriety will remain unpredictable, and you won’t find any enduring strength until you can admit defeat. Alcohol addiction may interfere with everyday living. You may have noticed your life in chaos—maybe you’ve lost your home, your job, your family, your possessions, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ or your self-respect. You may have seen the inside of hospital rooms or jail cells. Regardless of how you got to this point, Step 1 of AA is merely realizing that your alcohol abuse disorder was interfering negatively with your life, and you need to change. James Scribner holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

The paradox of powerlessness

Cheryl is a Clinical Social Worker licensed by the state of Maryland with over 30 years of experience in the field. She graduated from The University of Maryland with a master’s degree in social work. As a licensed clinician, Cheryl stands ready to diagnose and treat a wide spectrum of mental, behavioral, and personality disorders that sometimes present alongside a substance use disorder.

As the Medical Director, Mark works with the staff to coordinate the appropriate level of care for each individual client. He works directly with the clients on management of medical issues both related to and separate from their addiction, ensuring comprehensive health care plans that ensure our clients’ chances at recovery.

Tell Someone If You Feel Like Drinking

Until you do so, drugs and/or alcohol will continue to exert their power over you and control every aspect of your life. The power of admitting powerlessness is that it is the first step to taking back your life. When anyone is amid drug addiction, feeling powerless is one of the powerless over alcohol hardest things to come to terms with. It is hard to admit to yourself that your life has become so unmanageable that you no longer have any power over your own life or mind. While that powerless feeling can feel like an end for you, it is also the beginning of a new chapter.

Initially the drink gave me pseudo power when I never felt I was enough. Power to boldly walk in front of my peers; not filled with fear. Alcohol truly served as my personal wolf in sheep’s clothing. This magic elixir, a cure all for my plentiful emotional ailments.

How to Maintain Long-Term Recovery From Addiction

We let this Power do what we are unable to do for ourselves. Cravings can become very strong for a person who has an addiction to alcohol.

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. Try not to look at step one as admitting total defeat. Rather, look at step one as knowing what you can and cannot handle. Another study found that when people describe something bad that happened as a result of drinking or drug use, they typically attributed the behavior to lack of free will caused by addiction.