Why do recovering alcoholics lack self esteem?

Answer by  Binome (1975)

A recovering alcoholic is coming to grips with having a portion of his life that he or she had completely lost control over. Plus, most recovery programs involve taking a good hard look at the damage that has been done by their past behavior. Recovering alcoholics have a lot of guilt and feelings of failure to work through.

Answer by  technogeek (6640)

Because the alcohol made them feel about themselves differently than they really do. Without the alcohol, they had to confront their true feelings with a clear head.

Answer by  Brett (7986)

First off, even before they were recovering from alcoholism, they were probably suffering from low self esteem, as this is a primary reason why a lot of people drink. As for the recovery process, they might be feeling down on themselves for a number of reasons, one of which, might be the fact they aren't drinking anymore.

Answer by  Darkephoenix (1789)

Most alcoholics have addictions in their family of origin so they probably had very little to begin with. Some have been drinking to numb or avoid life which doesn't exactly build self esteem. Mostly by the time someone is in recovery they've hit bottom. Can only go up from there.

Answer by  thechadv1 (200)

It cannot be said that ALL recovering alcoholics lack self esteem. It could be said, generally speaking, that alcoholics drink in the first place because of low self esteem, and it is there well before the recovery phase.

Answer by  Supermom (107)

Alcoholism can completely take over peoples' lives in such a way that they have little to no control over their actions. Alcoholics often make poor choices. Poor choices choices bring about bad consequences. This cycle makes it hard for people to feel good about themselves, because they can't even control the smallest aspects of life.