Looking about at everybody selling their souls to the screens of their phones, you can’t help but sometimes stare in awe at just how much of a hurry our world has gotten into. Seems like in some ways we are too advanced for our own good. But then on the other hand, isn’t it just incredible how much society has advanced in the last 50 years? Or even the last 25? Our world is ever evolving and with things constantly changing, keeping up with life can be tricky. Toss in recovery with some alcoholic thinking into the vat and we have ourselves a recipe for survival of the fittest in a sense.
Life is all about adapting in so many ways to the things that happen around us. Whether it’s a new task at work or recovery being thrown into the mix, the only way to keep up sometimes is to learn new tricks and stay above the current. As we are all aware, or I would hope so, addiction and alcoholism are monsters that never sleep. It is a constant battle that can never be beaten necessarily, but you can still be the winner if you chose. Taking that piece of plastic we obsess about and opening up a few sobriety apps is a way where we can have our cake and eat it too.
An App a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
We can never predict the future 100% and there is only so much that we actually have a little sliver of control over, so taking care of self and staying on top of our game is the best way to thrive in this technologically advanced world. Sober apps have been around for a while, but as more and more find themselves opening Big Books, the tools are becoming more and more relevant. The other wonderful part about sober apps is the plethora of them that exist out there. There is a sober app for almost every recovery related need you could probably think of. The amount of people they are saving by providing direct access to saving grace info right in the palm of your hand is outstanding.
Some of the more popular sober apps out there are ones that help to keep track of your clean date and sobriety time. Some of these like My Spiritual Toolkit, Sobriety Counter, and Friend of Bill will do things like keep your sobriety birthday logged in and will help you keep track of all the minutes you’ve been sober. That’s kind of fascinating to think about, especially if you’ve got a substantial amount of time behind your belt. Of course, these sober apps will keep track in standard time of years, months, and days too- but they make it interesting and fun if you’ve got that curiosity side to you. Or they’re just helpful if your memory is awful and you’re shot out like so many of us are after years of chemical warfare on ourselves.
Ok, so let’s say you’ve had a day that is just swamped. I mean you had to go to your regular 9-5, pick the kids up from school, go grocery shopping, help with homework, etc. There was barely any time for yourself- let alone your recovery, and you were hoping to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that day but time wasn’t on your side at all. So now what? Well, funny you should ask because there are sobriety apps for these situations. Trying something from the comfort of your home like AA Speaker To Go or Recovery Speakers which both have taped speakers and/or podcasts that are available to listen to if that’s what the remedy needed for that day may be. These are both extremely handy resources to have close to you when you need some fellowship in your life but don’t have time to ditch the family or the unexpected double at work because Susan called in again.
What about if you’re in a rush to get somewhere, like we always are, and you forget to bring your Big Book or 12 & 12 and you needed it. It happens. This is when we pull the nifty little cellular device out of our pockets/purses/whatever and open up a few of our new sobriety apps such as One Day at a Time, AA Big Book, and More, or 12 Steps AA Companion. Each of these is compatible with Android and/or IOS. They’ll have the first 164 pages available for reading, the stories out of the back, plus more info and details regarding Alcoholics Anonymous and the program of recovery.
It may not seem like it, but the amount of sanity having these sober apps at the tips of your fingers can save is asylum saving. The amount of times I’ve seen somebody pull out their phone and have instant answers to what time that day’s meeting was and every detail about it you would need are too many to count. Some of these sober apps like OneHealth and The AA App can pick up your location and help you connect with others in one way or another. These little recovery aids will lead you to a group meditation, Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous, or any other possible support system locations. They’re all beneficial in their own manner, but even better is that most of these sobriety apps are free. If you’ve got all this down time to stare at your phone- take advantage of it. It could be the little difference in making your day run smoother.
Start Somewhere
Unfortunately, the apps don’t apply as much if we can’t get the substances out of the picture. Taking a leap and reaching for a new life is hard but nobody deserves to be slaved underneath chemical dependency. There is so much more to life than that and if we could just clear up the alcoholic thinking a little bit- it would become all so clear. If you or a loved one is struggling with chemical dependency and are ready for help, please call 877-978-3125 or visit www.coastaldetox.com. We are ready to give you any suggestions possible and set you or your loved one on a path that we can all be proud of.