Resumo

HENAO ESCOBAR, Juanita  e  SEGURA RESTREPO, Juliana. The Experience of "Hitting Rock Bottom" Among Recovering Alcoholics: A Phenomenological Approach. Divers.: Perspect. Psicol. [online]. 2013, vol.9, n.2, pp.319-333. ISSN 1794-9998.

Availing of the phenomenological method, this study aims to describe the experience of "hitting bottom" among recovering alcoholics. In-depth interviews were conducted with five men and three women who belong to the Alcoholic Anonymous community. These individuals were selected through a maximum variation sampling procedure. The results demonstrate that, due to the accumulation of critical events, in "hitting bottom" an alcoholic becomes aware of his/her existential ruin, is questioned for his/her life, feels a desire to change course, desists from the road toward self-destruction, seeks help, experiences feelings of hope and liberation, and begins a process of rebirth and transformation that leads him/her to stop drinking and therefore to a healthier life. Such an experience involves enormous suffering, precedes the process of recovery from alcoholism whereto it seems to be necessary.

Palavras-chave : alcoholism; recovery; phenomenology; "hitting bottom" experience.

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