How do you rise from reaching rock bottom and the role of spirituality in making it possible?

From the Editor: 

Reaching "rock bottom" is not just a metaphorical place but a real place that so many of us experience. It is a very real life experience for many. Some people experience “hitting rock bottom” in many ways. Some of these ways might be easier to recover from, but overall, I believe that any experience that you have to come out of can appear very insurmountable and be very, very difficult to navigate out of.

You can often doubt your ability of ever achieving transformation. It is a place where you cannot see the sunrise. You only see that dark place that you are in. Life seems hopeless. The greatest thing or the most powerful thing is that you can have a “blind belief” or faith in a higher being, that things will change and you will be transformed.

You can also draw upon your experience where you have seen others who have reached “rock bottom” and were able to rise from their position and become strong again. You don’t know when the transformation will come, but you are driven by the hope that things will change. You may not also know when, but if you believe that with time, change occurs, then you can revel in the belief that things will turn around for you and you will be able to transition from where you are, in that moment. Believing in the knowledge that life as we know it and experienced before, changes — the seasons change every year —life overall changes. I believe that just believing in life and the circle of life — gives us hope to become whole again.

Reaching “rock bottom” has a lot of meaning for me. I have experienced a moment in time when I felt very hopeless and felt that I was in a place where light wasn’t penetrating. I felt lost. I felt blind; I just could not see the future. It was in the year 2005 when I became sick. I suffered weight lost and muscle atrophy together with peripheral neuropathy which was not just in my feet as experts tend to describe neuropathy. It was on my overall body, except below my knees and my feet. It was literally everywhere, which makes wearing clothes very uncomfortable; but that is another story that one day I may share. During this period of my life what was a very large chunk of my life a period of over 2 years; was a very challenging time. I was in a very dark place and I often described it as being fallen into a crevice between two large rocks, and then slipping further down ward into a very small and dark space. Resting there, physically, psychologically and spiritually was the worst experience I have had. I felt as if I was an unborn fetus many times, struggling to come to full term. I often felt quiet; silent without movement.

How was I able to come out? How was that challenge? What were some of the strategies you used to rise above it all? I believe that having the will to live and believing that I had a greater purpose in life has driven me to be motivated. It strengthened my will to live. I had to come to the realization that I was not going to be going any where fast and soon. I had to believe that with time, I will be transformed, and only then, would I be able to move forward. Being patient, contented, and happy for each moment, became my goal. I had to become grateful for simply having another day, or a day without much pain, or a day when I felt relaxed, or a day when I was able to eat a little more — was my happy and joyous moments. Just having my grand-son and my daughter around me were also so satisfying and gratuitous. My priorities had to change. My mindset had to change. I was particularly grateful for just being given another day and saw it as a gift from God. I became contented, happy, and accepting of others.

I have decided to address this topic on my Women in Business radio, and I invited a guest who was willing to share her experiences reaching “rock bottom”. To deconstruct this experience or challenge, a series of questions were generated to further explore the topic. The questions that were designed to couched “reaching rock bottom” included, but were not limited to them:

1. What factors are responsible for you reaching rock bottom, and what does the term means for you? 
2. How important is spirituality to one rise from “reaching rock bottom”? 
3. Do you believe that we all have the ability to rise above a challenge that makes us hit or reach “rock bottom”? 
4.  Do you believe that to overcome such a challenge, an individual must have certain characteristics and attributes? What are some of them?
5.  Do you believe that self-love, a high-self concept, high self-worth, high self-confidence and a high self-esteem, attributes that contribute to overcoming such a challenge? 
6. How import is love and support from others to one’s transformation?

The show was entitled, “Spirituality and the Woman: How Do You Bounce Back from Reaching Rock Bottom?” According to my guest: “Reaching rock bottom” for many people means different things for some people, it could be poverty, drugs and alcoholism, vagrancy, dealing with loss of a loved on, dealing with divorce, or simply dealing with being fired from a job on which you depended upon for your survival, but we can all rise above it. Our journey might be different, but once we have the will to change our situation and become a testimony for others, we will be able to come out of that dark place — that dark place in our mind. Through this radio broadcast we learned that although you may reach "rock bottom” you can recover — you can sore again. For many of us, we can rise from the ashes like the Phoenix to find meaning and purpose in our lives and in living.

I recommend that you listen to this podcast of my Women in Business Radio (WIBR) broadcast that discusses "Spirituality and the Woman: How Do You Bounce Back from Reaching Rock Bottom?
This episode of WIBR looks at the experience of one of my guest who after reaching "rock bottom" was able to rise above it and lead a meaningful and purposeful life. Learn what are some ways she used to turn her life around. Learn also some of the characteristics and attributes she had to draw upon to pull herself up and to sore and become the person she was intended to become. Learn also about the role of self-love and the appreciation of love from others have to do with one's transformation.

Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Dr Cheryl Cottle on BlogTalkRadio

Editor
Dr. Cheryl Cottle