E255: You Don’t Have to Hit Bottom to Quit — Here’s What That Really Means

Sober Friends

Matt J

Alcohol Free, Alcoholics Anonymous, Recovery, Dry January, Spirituality, Sober, Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Sobriety, Sober Curious, Addiction, Religion & Spirituality, 12 Steps

4.2 • 718 Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Send us a text What does “rock bottom” actually look like — and do you really have to hit it before you get sober? In this episode, Matt and Steve break down the biggest myth in recovery: that you need a dramatic collapse, a lost job, a destroyed marriage, or a trip to the ER to justify getting help. We talk about how comparison keeps people stuck (“my story isn’t as bad as theirs”), why so many of us lie to ourselves about how bad things really are, and how easy it is to miss the quieter sig...

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I realized after the fact that alcohol was a mood regulator. Being too happy, I don't know,
0:07.7	I wanted to extend that feeling or regulate it. Sort of regulated or feel even better. So I drank.
0:14.7	When I felt really bad, clearly I wanted to feel better. So I drank. And without that,
0:18.8	what did I have feeling normal but she also talked about
0:22.5	where do I start or somebody saying well you may have a problem normal drinkers are never told
0:29.1	you may have a problem never if somebody were to tell you or a quiz tells you consider that you
0:35.5	might have a drinking problem that is a huge red flag because
0:39.3	most people don't have that feeling. There also is nothing lost. You theoretically don't
0:45.7	have a problem and don't drink. Welcome to the Sober Friends podcast.
1:02.1	Hey, if you're looking for some sobriety, path to sobriety, sober curiosity, you've reached the right place.
1:04.1	My name is Matt Jay over there.
1:05.5	Is Steve, Steve.
1:07.6	What's going on?
1:10.0	Good morning, Matt.
1:21.6	Just trying to catch up after the long Thanksgiving holiday festivities, I should say. And yeah, just trying to catch up and relax and good to be here back into a regular routine got rid of the last of the guests last
1:30.3	yesterday so um so today it's back to a regular routine here at the at the household but all good
1:38.4	all good good good stuff i want to talk a little bit about rock bottom. What does that mean? And do you have to
1:49.1	wait for whatever rock bottom looks like before you get sober? Because I don't think my rock bottom was
1:56.6	what you would think of when you're looking to get sober. But what does everybody's rock bottom
2:03.2	look like? And do you have to hit that just to quit? You have to wait for things to get bad
2:09.1	before you end up getting sober. Yeah, I mean, that's always a topic, right? We talk about it. You do need some catalysts, right? I don't know. You want to call it rock bottom. I think rock bottom or everybody's bottom is different. You and I had different bottoms for sure. Sure. And certainly when you sit in a 12-step in AA meeting, you get to hear a variety of bottoms, right?
2:37.4	And that's become, that's a little dangerous because especially early on, we have a tendency to compare versus identify.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 15 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Matt J, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Matt J and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.