What is the first step in addiction recovery?

Alcoholics Anonymous considers the first step of addiction recovery to be admitting that you’re powerless over your addiction. But recovery can be seen as starting much earlier than this – at the moment you realise that you have a problem.

Recovery is a long process that starts with a single step – acknowledgement. It takes significant bravery to acknowledge an addiction, and your brain can play a range of psychological tricks to keep you in the dark about the full extent of the problem. Recognising the tricks your brain can play will help you to recognise the truth and set you on the path to getting the help you need.

Realising you have an addiction

Addiction can fly under the radar for a long time. Many people who are addicted go to great lengths to hide their addiction from other people and can even appear functional to others. But it is also possible to hide addiction from yourself. This is called denial.

Many people who are experiencing drug addiction or alcohol addiction are in denial about their habit. They are not doing this on purpose. Denial is a subconscious choice to believe the things you want to be true instead of the uncomfortable things.

Sigmund Freud and his daughter Anna were the first to explore the concept of denial. They understood denial to be an unconscious process, where the person does understand that there is a problem deep down, but the reality is too painful or uncomfortable to be recognised consciously. The facts are pushed out of awareness unconsciously via repression.

Repression is different to suppression – if a person is repressing an uncomfortable truth, thoughts are being pushed out of awareness at an unconscious level. Suppression is the act of consciously and deliberately pushing away or trying to forget about painful or unwanted thoughts. A person in addiction may be engaging in suppression – but for this to be possible, they have to be aware of the fact they have an addiction and actively suppressing it. Suppression is especially pernicious within addiction, as addiction can form part of the suppression itself. Using drugs and alcohol can further push aspects of reality out of the conscious mind, with numbness and intoxication forming part of the process.

Denial works at a deeper level than suppression, distorting or reframing reality – a person using drugs or alcohol heavily may be aware that their use is excessive but frame it in such a way that they don’t recognise it as an addiction. They may view it as a necessary escape from their problems or a tool to unwind from life’s difficulties.

Denial can also take the form of minimisation or comparing your consumption to others favourably. In the UK, 21% of people drink enough to put them at risk of some level of alcohol-related harm. This means for many people; there will always be someone else they can compare themselves to who drinks heavily and can be pointed to as proof that they don’t have a problem. But just because someone drinks more than you does not mean you don’t have an addiction, and it does not mean it isn’t time for you to reach out for help.

Realising you have an addiction can happen in a few ways. Some people may realise when their loved ones stage an intervention, and others may realise when they try to quit and experience unexpected withdrawal symptoms. Realisation can also be gradual – over time, the addiction can become too large to ignore and leak out of the subconscious into the conscious mind as repression fails. Once the addiction is present in the conscious mind, it needs to be acknowledged – this is the first active step in addiction recovery as it is the first one that is under your control.

Do I need to hit rock bottom to seek help?

While Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programmes have helped millions of people recover from substance addiction, its focus on the necessity of hitting rock bottom before recovery is controversial. The AA book Daily Reflections claims that rock bottom is necessary because very few people will sincerely practise the programme and take recovery seriously until they’ve hit it. For AA, this is the first part of the recovery process – the necessary prerequisite to engaging with the first of the Twelve Steps, which is acknowledging your powerlessness over your drinking.

However, hitting rock bottom isn’t necessary to take the first step. Recognising your problem and acting on it can and does happen earlier. You don’t need to go through the pain of losing the things that are most important to you to be able to recover – in fact, stable relationships, structure and purpose are all crucial factors in boosting recovery rates. Hitting rock bottom often means losing important relationships, jobs, or responsibilities, meaning important support mechanisms that can help you get through recovery must be built up again while you’re battling your addiction, making the process more difficult.

Acknowledging your addiction

Admitting you have a problem takes a huge amount of courage. It’s one of the most difficult steps of recovery because it involves facing the truth head-on. A person who has acknowledged their addiction may continue to use it, but this could be because they’re afraid of withdrawals or of the enormity of engaging in recovery. They may engage in suppression, using substances to do this.

You might not feel ready to get help as soon as you realise you have a problem. Addiction symptoms can be frightening, and some people will need professional support to stop taking substances safely. You might want to make preparations to ensure you’ve got the help you need, like finding an addiction rehab. If this is where you are right now, we can help.

UKAT is here when you’re ready

Whether you’ve hit rock bottom or you’ve realised it’s time to make a change, we’re here for you. Our detox and rehab programmes are tailored to meet your needs so you can be sure you’re getting the most effective treatment.

Take the first step today.