Many people who are suffering from drug and alcohol problems never quite know when the right time is to check into a drug and alcohol rehab center. Some experts say that you have to hit "bottom," but that bottom may be unrecognizable to you, or it may in fact be a false bottom.
One person's bottom may be an arrest for drunk driving; while for another person, it may be when someone is actually killed. It all depends on your state of mind and the severity of your disease.
The truth is that many people never end up in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers until the courts tell them they have no other choice.
For other people, their bottom may seem relatively minor compared to others. Maybe they got so drunk they had an encounter they wouldn't have otherwise had. Maybe they lost their job or have been threatened with divorce by their spouse. Some people actually end up in a drug and alcohol rehab center simply because someone in their life suggested they do it.
For these people, rehab can be difficult because they may not even believe that they have a problem, let alone a disease, and they will fight treatment every day they are in a treatment center.
There is no universal point at which anyone is ready to go into treatment and stop using drugs and alcohol, and perhaps that is the biggest problem. We all must decide on our own (or have that decision made by the courts). But if you choose the right treatment center and dedicate yourself to changing your life and finding the benefits of sobriety more attractive than the benefits of continued addiction, you will find that treatment can work for you and you can emerge as a new person.