AA is Effective and Safeguarding Your Recovery Despite COVID-19

HAUS Recovery clients attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous on a regular basis. 12 Step groups help men and women sustain their addiction recovery. Working with others keeps clients on track to achieving long-term recovery.

Perhaps you heard the news about a new systematic review that found Alcoholics Anonymous the most effective method for abstinence for people struggling with alcohol use disorder. The findings were published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review.

"These results demonstrate A.A.'s effectiveness in helping people not only initiate but sustain abstinence and remission over the long term," said the review's lead author, John F. Kelly, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The researchers found that A.A. and treatments that facilitate TSF involvement (Twelve‐Step Facilitation interventions) usually produced higher rates of continuous abstinence than the other established therapies for addiction.

Now that there is some evidence of the efficacy of 12 Step programs, people attending meetings will likely want to continue doing so. However, there is a new problem that the recovery community must address: The Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

If you have attended 12 Step meetings, then you know that there is a lot of person to person interaction. People who go to meetings shake hands, hug, and sit close to one another. Since public health agencies recommend avoiding such behaviors, including gathering in large groups, the Coronavirus is more than problematic for those in recovery.

Guidance for the 12 Step Community

It's vital that you take every precaution to avoid coming into contact with COVID-19. Disease transmission is escalating every day in the United States. Hopefully, you will take the time to follow the CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19. Visit CDC.gov for more information.

As it stands today, meetings are still being held across the country. However, the General Service Office (G.S.O.) of Alcoholics Anonymous has published a statement regarding COVID-19. They write about what many groups country wide are doing to safeguard the health of their members. 

Naturally, thousands of people in recovery have reached out to the G.S.O. regarding COVID-19 concerns. The resource center for A.A. members and groups states that each group has the right to hold meetings as they please, but each member is responsible for their own health decisions, regardless of their homegroup's decisions. The G.S.O. writes:

"Some groups have discussed making changes to customs at their meetings. Some examples have included: avoiding shaking hands and handholding; making sure meeting hospitality tables are sanitary; or suspending food hospitality for the time being...Some groups have considered contingency plans in case the group is temporarily unable to meet in person. Plans have included: creating contact lists and keeping in touch by phone, email or social media; meeting by phone or online. Providing members information for the A.A. Online Intergroup (www.aa-intergroup.org) may serve as an additional helpful resource. If a group isn't holding its regular meetings, they may want to communicate this to local A.A. resources, such as the district, area and intergroup or central office."

At HAUS Recovery, we hope that you take steps to protect your sobriety even if you decide not to attend meetings for the time being. Make sure that you stay in constant contact with your support network and sponsor to safeguard your progress. Moreover, your health and safety are of the utmost importance. Please take every measure possible to prevent coming into contact with the virus.

Structured Sober Living in Southern California

HAUS Recovery will also be following the CDC guidelines on the COVID-19 virus to ensure our clients are protected. If you are in need of assistance for alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder, we invite you to contact HAUS to learn more about our programs and services. We want to welcome you to the HAUS, where you'll feel safe, grounded, and accepted.

Relapse Prevention: 90 Meetings in 90 Days

At HAUS Recovery, we hope that you had a safe and sober Christmas and are making preparations for keeping your recovery intact into the New Year. Relapse prevention is a staple of early recovery and beyond, and significant holidays often derail people’s programs. Those who manage to maintain their sobriety during the holiday season have to double their efforts to avoid risky situations.

Still, preventing relapse can be challenging regardless of what time of the year it is; the disease of addiction is continually trying to elbow its way back into your life. In order to safeguard your recovery, you must continue utilizing the relapse prevention tools you learned in treatment. Moreover, you must always put your recovery ahead of everything else; people who put their recovery first make it last.

Lasting recovery is the goal for anyone who has a history of alcohol or substance use disorder. Those who achieve long-term recovery following treatment quite often seek the assistance of a structured sober living home. Changing your way of life depends heavily on having safety nets in place to help prevent getting off track. What’s more, having a strong support group – such as those attending 12 Step meetings – is vital.

In treatment, you probably learned about the value of joining a fellowship like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. It’s likely that you were also encouraged to enter sober living immediately following your discharge. As we mentioned in a previous post, returning to your home after treatment can be hazardous to recovery. Hopefully, you followed your aftercare guidance. Perhaps you are living in a sober or transitional living home currently?

In any event, sober living or not, your goal of achieving long-term recovery depends on attending meetings daily. Repetition is essential to people in early recovery.

Meeting Makers Make It

If you are in sober living, then you are probably instructed to attend a meeting of recovery every day of the week. Finding a homegroup and a sponsor will help you adopt the principles needed for leading a life in recovery. You may have to attend several different groups before you find one that will be your homegroup. Be on the lookout for a sponsor once you’ve established a daily meeting of choice. It’s incredibly beneficial to share the same homegroup as your sponsor.

A sponsor will walk you through the Steps, and he or she will be your go-to person for support, but they will not be the only individual you turn to for help. When you attend the same meeting seven days a week, you begin to develop relationships with individual members of the group. Such people will not just be lifelines in times of crisis, and they will also become your friends.

Leading a life in recovery means letting go of past acquaintances, primarily the people who used drugs and alcohol with you. Attending meetings is an opportunity to foster healthy and supportive relationships with men and women who share your goal of lasting sobriety. Such people, like your sponsor, are also a source of accountability.

Bonds are formed when your recovery peers see you day after day. If for some reason you miss a meeting, such individuals will reach out to you and see if you need assistance. However, it will be difficult to form lasting bonds with members of your homegroup if you are regularly absent. Even though there will be days that you do not feel like attending a meeting, it’s beneficial to set the goal of attending 90 meetings in 90 days following treatment.

90 Meetings In 90 Days Prevents Relapse

When attending meetings becomes a routine, you may start looking at them differently than you did initially. Going to your homegroup will not seem like a quotidian chore; instead, you will see them as a chance to charge your spiritual battery. What’s more, daily meetings will help you get in the practice of speaking in front of others without fear or trepidation.

Sharing at meetings lets your support network know how you are doing; it’s a means of checking in. If you are struggling with some aspect of the program, then another member will likely reach out to offer guidance after the meeting. Their advice could help you prevent making a decision that could lead to a relapse.

Conversely, your daily attendance will help you get in the necessary practice of extending your hand to newcomers with less time than you. Recovery is maintained by paying it forward; you are responsible for passing on what you have learned to those who are new to the program.

Structured Sober Living in Early Recovery

If you or a loved one is on the verge of being discharged from an addiction treatment center, then please contact HAUS Recovery. We also invite people who are new to the program but did not attend rehab to contact us as well. Our team of dedicated professionals can help you strengthen your program. We are available at any time to provide you with more information about our program. (888) 551-4715

Sober Living Following Addiction Treatment

The road to lasting recovery often begins at an addiction treatment center. Those who opt for the treatment route will benefit in several ways, from safely detoxing to learning tools for maintaining long-term recovery. Moreover, such individuals also find it advantageous to spend time in a safe, supportive environment away from influences that could jeopardize their ability to heal.

The importance of the last feature of addiction treatment mentioned above cannot be discounted. Maintaining a program of addiction recovery is exceptionally challenging even under the best of circumstances (i.e., family support and financial resources).

Attempting to adopt a program of abstinence in one's usual environs is next to impossible for many individuals, which is why people seek treatment given the option. Being able to be free of people, places, and things that might compromise the goal of recovery is especially beneficial. A 30, 60, or 90-day program gives people the time needed to establish new routines away from the common pitfalls of early recovery.

Still, addiction treatment is a finite experience; one cannot stay away from the outside world interminably. Each person needs to return to the world at large eventually. Hopefully, one will have a set of recovery tools and coping mechanisms in place to prevent relapse upon discharge. However, the prospect of returning home following treatment is often problematic, even with the above skills at one's disposal.

With that in mind, treatment centers almost always recommend sober living to clients who are about to be discharged. There is a myriad of advantages to opting for a structured, sober living home following a stay in residential treatment.

Maintain Your Recovery Following Treatment

If you or a loved one is about to exit an inpatient treatment program, then we strongly advise that you consider sober living. Returning home right after rehab places individuals back into harm's way when one's recovery is still fragile. The stresses of everyday life can prove to be daunting in early recovery; anything you can do to safeguard your sobriety should be done.

While it is possible to succeed by immediately starting to attend 12-step meetings, getting a sponsor, and working the steps, many people find it challenging to steer clear of things that can derail their program. Old ways of thinking may come back, along with selfish and self-centered behaviors. 

Choosing sober living will shield people from that which might compromise their program. Transitional living homes also provide men and women with an extra level of accountability in the nascent stage of recovery. If you choose this route, then you will find yourself living amongst other men and women who share your goals. You will form bonds and lasting friendships with others in the recovery community.

Long-term sobriety is achieved together with others, not alone. Your peers will prove to be vital lifelines that you can turn to when extra support is required. As you tackle new experiences with a clear and sober mind, you will find that sober living helps you continue working toward the goals you set for yourself while in treatment.

To that end, HAUS Recovery's certified counselors coordinate with the addiction professionals you worked with while in treatment. With our support and structured schedule, your self-esteem will strengthen, and you will be able to be more independent in recovery at a safe and gradual pace.

Structured Sober Living in Santa Monica

Please reach out to HAUS Recovery to learn more about our programs and the benefits of choosing sober living. Members of our team are available at any time to field the questions or concerns that you may have. We look forward to helping you embark on a journey to wellness and wholeness and showing you that a life of recovery can be both healing and fun.