Living sober is a tough challenge. Some fall off the wagon multiple times before achieving their goal each day. But while no two people follow the exact same path to sober living, most would agree that receiving help from others is one of the most powerful aids anyone could benefit from.
Helping Others Live Sober helps others do just that
There are many organizations that have been created to help people live a sober lifestyle. One of them has used the most descriptive title of all – Helping Others Live Sober.
Their mission is to assist others in doing just that. This is a non-profit organization that is focused primarily on study and research. It is hoped the results of the study and research projects will help many more addicts and alcoholics live a sober lifestyle.
They undertook a large study – one of the only ones of its kind – that investigated adolescents staying in residential centers for treatment, and explored the outcome of such treatment. The familiar 12-step process undertaken by addicts and alcoholics was explored, to identify the likely outcome from adolescents completing the program while in residential treatment.
Can their website help others live sober?
One of the key facets of Helping Others Live Sober is the huge amount of useful information on their website. Moreover, they provide information that should appeal to every type of learner. They include the following:
- Recordings of speakers at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings
- Artwork created by people who are recovering from their addiction
- Information and sources of research used by the organization
- An active forum
- Links to other sources of information, advice, and support
This means no matter how individuals prefer to learn and take in information, they should find something presented in their preferred form. This could mean listening to, reading, viewing, or doing something that could help any addict on their journey to stay sober each day.
A wealth of research
There is also a huge body of research that can be accessed without charge on the Helping Others Live Sober website. Topics such as social anxiety during treatment, spiritual change, staying sober through service, and the benefits of helping others are all included in the section on research media alone.
While the main page of the website is kept deliberately simple, showing a series of hands each featuring something they do (i.e. ‘together we are united in helping others’), there is much information to benefit from elsewhere. The research section includes a study measures area comprised of a great number of questionnaires, assessments, and self-reports, any and all of which could help an individual as they try to beat their addiction.
A good example would be the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES). This assists people in identifying their spiritual experience at the current time. This could be completed and kept, and the person could complete a further copy several weeks into their recovery, to see how they have changed.
Exploring the sharing section
Even the most cursory look at the Helping Others Live Sober website would reveal the huge array of useful information here. Not only is it designed to help those who are trying to beat their addictions, it would also be useful for those who have family members or friends in that position. The extent to which Helping Others Live Sober can reach out to individuals is quite remarkable.
The sharing section is comprised of six main areas:
- Media
- Audio
- Forum
- Quotes
- Stories
- Links
Most visitors will find something pertinent to their current situation and experiences that would help them move ahead and hopefully live sober for the rest of their lives. The stories section alone offers many short personal tales of people and their battles to become and remain sober.
The organization has been in existence since 2010. Their research has been notable and they provide information and resources that will help professionals and those who are in recovery themselves. Their focus is the Character Development Through Service and Reduced Recidivism: Project SOS research, a project that looks set to provide extensive data regarding those who are court-referred for treatment. But as we have seen, many others can benefit from the amazing work done by Helping Others Live Sober, too.
