7 apps for addiction-recovery
In today’s mobile age, innovations are constantly being made to improve industry methods. That is no different in the recovery industry. Sure, scheduled meetings in physical locations are still common and effective for many people in recovery. Mobile apps, however, are quickly changing–and improving–how people in recovery stay connected to peers and receive support. Having that support after you leave rehab or receive treatment is essential to remaining in recovery and avoiding relapse. Below are seven of the best of these addiction-recovery apps.
1) CleanTime Counter
This app helps users easily keep track of their sobriety and encourages them along the way. It simply keeps track of the user’s sobriety by calculating the time that has elapsed since a starting date. CleanTime Counter has different customizable settings as well.
Price: Free
2) Sober Grid
This free, location-based app lets users find and connect with others in recovery who are near them for support, encouragement, information and sober friendship. You can remain anonymous if you wish. It displays a grid of app users in the general vicinity (giving an approximate distance) and allows you to message that user, post messages to a newsfeed, or alert others that you are in need of support. This app is simply a social-network for people in recovery.
Price: Free
3) Ascent
The Ascent app is combined with 24/7/365 support from recovery coaches. For $35/month, users have access to peer-recovery coaches with lived addiction experience. Through the Ascent app, users can stay in contact with recovery coaches via text or calls and there is always new, engaging content in the “Discover’ section. The app also allows users to find nearby meetings, geographically target and avoid tempting locations, add journal entries and set motivations, take daily or weekly surveys that their coaches can monitor, and receive immediate help via the ‘Beacon’ button. This video breaks down all of the features.
Price: $35
4) I Am Sober
This app uses visualization to help people in recovery achieve their goals. As people make the journey toward a sober lifestyle, this app shows them their progress. In fact, as they continue to use the app, the homepage shows them how many years, months, and days they’ve been sober. There’s also a countdown to their next milestone for extra inspiration.
Price: $1.99
5) Addicaid
This app helps people either begin or maintain their recovery. They cater to moderation management and sobriety. People in recovery can find and rate meetings, track their progress with custom daily goals, and when they’re done clicking around there, they can stay inspired and motivated with curated news, videos and music feeds.
Price: Free
6) Recoverybox
This app uses a light system to keep track of the user’s daily activities. These are put into categories to mark their helpfulness: green light for beneficial activities, yellow light for potentially harmful behavior and red light for “acting out” or dangerous activities. It also has an email/text service to keep the person connected with their sponsor or counselor. An interesting thing is that this particular app supports from conventional to less-mainstream dependencies, like addiction to caffeine, exercise, social media, shopping and perfectionism.
Price: $1.99
7) AA Speakers to Go
With this app, users can listen to an Alcoholics Anonymous Speaker Collection of over 500 hours of audio with tapings from Bill W, Clancy I, Ed M, and more. This app is pretty straightforward and can be a good resource for anyone in AA.
Price: $4.99
Every year apps come and go, but for people in recovery who need support on their terms, some of these apps might be the perfect fit. If you have any questions about any of these apps–or any other questions–feel free to reach out to . Remember, recovery is possible and recovery methods are improving every day.