An accurate summary of this most intriguing aspect of overcoming self-destructive routines. As an addiction counsellor, I've observed a wide range of individual 'bottom' stages.

For some, this happens when there is a realisation that the behaviour conflicts with an existing value. Take the trade unionist smoker who quits when it dawns on him that he might be being suckered by vastly profitable tobacco companies. Suddenly, his long-standing habit collides with his deeper-rooted values.

In other cases, a bottom may be reached by a shift in values. An obvious example is the smoker suddenly diagnosed with lung disease. He now has a very different perspective on the habit.

Either way, it's the unpredictable logic of taking ownership of consequences that intrigues me most. It should be a given that the seriously ill smoker would be driven to quit... and feeling suckered by the manufacturer should be the last concern. Reality proves otherwise.

No matter how minimal or extreme your bottom is or was, everyone had one.

This should have been an 'essential read'.

Is this really a matter of conflicting values? The article claims that once deep-rooted morals contradict one's actions, then the behavior will cease. Yet, the example of the mother who has lost nearly everything just does not go along with that claim. It seems incomprehensible that all aspects of one’s life (family, financial, security, stability) are ripped away from her due to this addiction and she has yet to conflict with her morals. Not only are any basic morals violated, but one’s basic needs! Everyone needs love and support, a safe place to go, and some stability in his/her life. Instead, maybe it is even something more genetically based that we have a certain breaking point etched into our makeup. For me, it remains a question as to what defines this breaking point. A person so far in the depths of addiction is not concerned primarily with morality.

i like your way of describing the bottom, i want to add that this bottom doesn't come suddenly, but it happens step by step until someone finds himself there without prior notice. Thanks for your amazing and inspiring articles :)

Wow this is a great article. It is fun to read and I am sure readers of this article will gain knowledge like I do. Thanks for posting and keep posting.