As researchers in Norway, Denmark, and the US have found, positive relationships have a substantial influence on your ability to get and stay sober.
When you can connect with a community of empathetic peers who have been through what you’re going through, you feel understood and supported. It motivates you to continue.
But what about an online peer community? How can that kind of community support help you stay sober? Here are a few answers to those questions that show just how effective an online peer community can be in helping with addiction recovery.
Availability Gives You Support When You Need It
One of the best things about an online peer community is that you can get support whenever you need it, day or night.
In-person meetings and professionals are available at certain times, so you may have to wait hours or even days to get the support you need.
That could make the difference between staying sober and relapsing. Online peer communities can offer connections 24/7, and that means no waiting for the support and motivation you need.
Anonymity is More Certain with Online Peer Communities
One of the key elements in 12-step meetings is the ability of a group member to be completely anonymous. It’s much easier to reveal the sometimes deeply personal reasons behind your addiction.
It works well in person, but it works even better in online peer communities. It is much easier to stay anonymous in a virtual meeting since you don’t even have to show a picture of yourself.
When you feel like your anonymity is protected, you feel safer about revealing your problems, and when you can do that, your peer community can better help you address them.
Convenience Makes Sobriety Easier to Maintain
With an online peer community, you can attend meetings and reach out to connections when it’s more convenient for you to do so.
The platforms work on your schedule instead of you needing to rearrange your life to fit with an in-person schedule or an in-patient facility.
What’s more, online peer communities offer more flexibility with regard to scheduling. Peer community members are available when you’re available, even if that changes from day to day.
Online Addiction Recovery Programs are More Effective
It might be hard to believe, but a 2018 study by researchers at Yale University found that online addiction programs are actually more effective than in-person treatments delivered by clinicians.
The clinician-delivered treatment programs were actually associated with both a higher dropout rate and more relapses upon follow-up.
The Sober Sidekick Online Peer Community
Sober Sidekick is an app and social media platform that boasts an online peer community of more than 150,000 members. The platform offers virtual AA meetings 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you can make connections with members or accountability partners any time of the day or night.
You can also reach out to professionals on the platform for extra help when you feel you need it. All of these features make Sober Sidekick an outstanding online peer community that’s worth a try today!
Image: Freepik
This is a very good topic for an article and one that is on the agenda, which means it is in demand among readers. For example, two things helped me with my problem, friends and work, working with canva-alternatives, I realised some colours of life and generally discovered new facets of life, and thanks to my friends, I kept this awareness, they helped me to understand this idea more deeply, and only at the very end, I turned to a therapist to consolidate the result.