Drop the Rock: Meaning and Significance in Addiction Recovery

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is one of the most respected programs in addiction recovery. Many aspects of the program contribute to its success, including the 12 Steps and their significance. Among them is “Drop the Rock,” a story about a group of 12-Step members who symbolize transformation and overcoming challenges.

What Is Drop the Rock?

“Drop the Rock” is a story from “Drop the Rock: Removing Character Defects.” It’s about a group of 12-Step members who set sail on a ship named “Recovery,” sailing across the “Sea of Life” toward the “Island of Serenity.”[1] As the story goes, once the boat pulls away from the dock, the passengers realize some of their fellow members are missing.

Their friend Mary comes running to the dock and the boat. The people aboard cheer her on, assuring her that she can do it. She dives into the water and swims for the boat as fast as she can, but she slows as she gets near the boat and struggles to stay afloat.

The passengers on the boat can see why: there’s a heavy rock hanging from strings around Mary’s neck. “Drop the rock!” they all shout. Mary looks down at the rock and views it as a collection of her resentments, anger, fear, and self-pity, all weighing her down. She knows she needs to let go to avoid drowning.

Mary tears the strings from her neck, pulls the rock away, and lets it sink into the deep. No longer hampered by dead weight, Mary swims to the boat and climbs aboard, exhausted but safe and surrounded by recovery friends on the same journey.

What’s the Meaning Behind Drop the Rock?

In addiction recovery, the story of “Drop the Rock” is symbolic of letting go of negative character traits, harmful patterns, and emotional burdens that may be holding you back from sobriety. By releasing the metaphorical rock, Mary releases the obstacles that weigh her down and surrenders herself to a higher power for personal growth and a healthier life.[2]

Drop the Rock is derived from the principles of Steps 6 and 7 of AA for personal recovery. These steps are:[3]

Step 6: “Were entirely ready to have God remove all our defects of character.”

Step 7: “Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.”

Although these steps are only briefly discussed in the “Big Book” of AA, they are simple and profound.

How to “Drop the Rock”

Character defects like anger, fear, resentment, and self-pity can weigh people down on the path to recovery. Like the rock that hindered Mary, it’s essential to let go of these defects and emotional baggage to live a happy, healthy, and sober life.

Addiction recovery doesn’t mean you won’t experience these emotions – in small doses. Life can bring stress and challenges with momentary emotions. The difference with the rock is that these emotions are carried longer than necessary. They become habit and comfort, potentially harming progress.

A big part of AA and the 12-Step program is learning to recognize and let go of these defects and unhelpful thought processes, lest they “sink” you. When you finally “drop the rock,” you can become who you want to be.

Working Steps Six and Seven

Steps 6 and 7 and the Drop the Rock story may seem simple. However, once you reach the point in your recovery to ask a higher power to help with character defects, it can be a powerful experience. The resentment, anger, hurt, and self-pity may subside and return, threatening a return to old habits and thought patterns.

Change doesn’t happen all at once, especially in recovery. You must work at intentionally changing your thoughts, habits, and behaviors, working each day to understand why you pick up your rock – and, more importantly, how you can drop it.

Working Step Ten

AA’s Step 10 complements Steps 6 and 7: taking personal inventory.[4] Remembering your thoughts and behaviors, no matter how long you’ve recovered is important. Character defects and emotional baggage can be just as damaging as the addiction you’ve overcome to both you and those around you, and they can stick around much longer.

Step recovery is more than getting sober. It’s also the process of recognizing, confronting, and eliminating those character defects to live more deliberately. As you work on Step 10, you can see how “dropping the rock” and working on character flaws can positively affect you and those around you daily.

Getting Help for Addiction

While AA and the Steps can be helpful in recovery, they’re not usually enough to overcome addiction on their own. Instead, AA can be part of a comprehensive addiction treatment program that includes other evidence-based therapies.

Addiction is a compulsive need to continue using a substance despite the problems it causes in your work, personal life, or health. With alcohol addiction, it can be extremely difficult to overcome not only the mental aspects of addiction, but the physical effects of alcohol. Withdrawal can have intense and potentially life-threatening symptoms, increasing the risk of relapse or complications.

Because of this, medical detox may be used prior to an addiction recovery program. With detox, you’ll have a medical team to monitor your health, manage symptoms, and prevent dangerous complications to keep you as safe and comfortable as possible while your body adjusts to the absence of alcohol.

Once detox is complete, you can enter an addiction treatment program on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Treatment programs are individualized, but you may undergo individual therapy, group counseling, peer support, behavioral therapies, and other types of therapies to address the emotional, social, and psychological aspects of addiction and learn to live a sober life.

Take Control of Your Recovery and Achieve Personal Growth

Drop the Rock and Steps 6, 7, and 10 can help you let go of your character flaws and emotional baggage, the negative emotions that weigh you down, and move forward in your recovery. The Steps are a touchstone for spiritual growth and transformation, giving you the skills to support lifelong sobriety.