Pain is indeed a powerful motivator. I didn’t begin to do the hard work and to make the difficult changes necessary for Recovery for my Bipolar Disorder and addictions until I was in agony, emotionally, financially, spiritually, and mentally.
Sure, I started recovery work in 1993, but my efforts were far from full measures. So they availed me little but a degree of relief and the capacity to function in society with my head just above water.
It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom in 2010, was a tortured soul, and could barely find the will to keep going that I became “willing to go to any lengths” to get better. As I added AA to my modalities and tools of Recovery, I was taught that my way wasn’t working and I had to change. Everything. I plunged head-first into that endeavor and have yet to look back. By God’s grace.
One of my favorite quotes about Recovery comes from AA’s 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, pg 24:
“Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to A.A., and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation.Then, and only then, do we become as open-minded to conviction and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We
stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession from us.”
Was definitely true for me. For Alcoholism, my Porn Addiction, and my Bipolar Disorder.
INSPIRATION AND EMOTIONAL COURAGE: MENTAL ILLNESS, ADDICTION, AND RECOVERY 