5 Apps That Can Help You Stay Accountable to Your Sobriety

Whether you’ve been sober for years or days, everyone struggles sometimes. Recovery is an ongoing process and you may find yourself needing some additional support after completing rehab. Fortunately, there’s an app for just about everything—even sobriety maintenance. While Eudaimonia does not support the idea that an app can take the place of addiction treatment or recovery support services, sobriety apps can certainly be used to supplement a sober living program and help residents maintain their sobriety.

Below are five different top-rated sobriety apps for Apple and Android. If you are currently enrolled in a transitional housing program or you have recently transitioned back home, one of these apps may help you remain accountable to your sobriety and continue working to achieve a healthy, substance-free lifestyle.

12 Steps Companion

The 12 Steps Companion app is a comprehensive sobriety tool for members of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is available for iOS and Android devices and allows you to carry the Big Book with you everywhere you go.^1,2 Use this app all throughout the day for reading, note-taking, encouragement, and easy access to contact information for your sober coach, sober living house manager, recovery program coordinator, and more, without ever worrying about your identity being revealed. The 12 Steps Companion app protects your anonymity at all times. Although this app is incredibly robust, it’s surprisingly easy to use and provides a wealth of recovery maintenance tools for individuals in all stages of recovery.

Main features:

• View and keep track of how long you’ve been sober every time you open the app.
• Read the main 164 pages (and more) of the Big Book while easily navigating through sections, highlighting text, or taking notes.
• Enjoy easy access morning and night prayers, in addition to the Prayer of St. Francis and other prayers from the Big Book
• Gain encouragement from an extensive collection of promises from the Big Book.
• Take notes to revisit later at your AA meetings or share your notes with friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, and email.
• Organize your recovery support contacts for easy access to phone numbers, addresses, and your Maps app for directions to local AA meetings.

Nomo Sobriety Clocks

The Nomo app was created by a man in recovery who needed a way to stay motivated and keep himself on track with his sobriety.^3,4 It is available for iOS and Android devices and is perfect for anyone in recovery from drugs, alcohol, pornography, depression, self-harm, and more. The Nomo app not only helps you keep a running progress log of how long you’ve been sober, but it also provides fun brain exercises to keep your mind off of your cravings. You can also create multiple sobriety clocks to keep track of your progress with food addiction, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, and any other battle you’re fighting. The Nomo app is great for individuals who are currently enrolled in a transitional housing program and want an extra tool to track their personal progress.

Main features:

• Create and manage multiple sobriety clocks for all kinds of addictions.
• Set a secure pin code to keep your Nomo account private.
• Use distraction exercises to keep your mind off of your cravings and to re-focus.
• Earn AA chips when you reach milestones in your recovery and share your progress directly to your Facebook or Twitter.
• Connect with other accountability partners who use the Nomo app and check in to keep yourself accountable to others.
• Keep track of how much money you’ve saved by not supporting your addictive habit.
• Send messages to accountability partners when you’re feeling tempted.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day: Recovery Meditations

This app was named one of Healthline’s Best Alcoholism Apps of 2016 and 2017 and is available for iOS and Android. The Twenty-Four Hours A Day: Recovery Meditations app was created by Hazelden Publishing and serves as a convenient digital version of the best-selling meditation book for people in addiction recovery.^5,6 This app provides you with easy access to all of the book’s 366 daily meditations and allows you to read, share, and bookmark your favorite meditations for easy access later. Whether you’re currently enrolled in a sober living program or have recently completed one, this app is a great way to stay focused and motivated with positive daily reminders and messages.

Main features:

• Search through meditation messages with keywords like “strength,” “hope,” or “wisdom.”
• Customize the font size for easier reading.
• Use the calendar navigation to easily access meditation messages for any day of the year.
• Bookmark your favorite messages so you can easily return to them when you need some extra motivation.
• Share daily messages with friends in your transitional living program via text or email.
• Shake your phone or tablet to receive a random meditation message.
• Keep your recovery at the forefront of your mind while traveling for business or pleasure.

Sober Grid

Sober Grid is a well-known social networking app for individuals in recovery from drugs and alcohol.^7,8 If you recently relocated to a new city to enroll in a sober living program, Sober Grid is a great way to connect with other individuals in recovery near you. For those concerned about privacy, you can also choose to remain completely anonymous on the app if you choose to. Rebuilding your social life can be difficult in recovery, but this app makes it easier to safely find and interact with other sober people in your area. An awesome addition to any sobriety toolbox, this social networking app is definitely worth a try and is available for iOS and Android devices.

Main features:

• Track the amount of time you’ve been sober and unlock badges as you reach more milestones.
• Find other people in your city or neighborhood that aren’t drinking alcohol or using drugs to build a strong network of other locals in recovery.
• Edit the amount of personal information you’d like to share (or not share).
• Encourage and communicate with other individuals in recovery via app messages.
• Ask the Sober Grid community for help when you’re feeling tempted.

Happify

Although not specifically designed for drug and alcohol recovery, the Happify app features science-based activities and games to help individuals manage feelings of depression and anxiety. These emotional issues are very common for people in recovery and this app is a great tool to help individuals cope with and overcome stress, anxiety, depression, and negative thoughts. The techniques and exercises featured on the Happify app were developed by scientists and experts who study evidence-based interventions in the fields of cognitive behavioral therapy, positive psychology, and mindfulness for decades.^9.10,11 Whether you need help overcoming everyday challenges in your newfound sobriety or you’d like to work on banishing those negative thoughts that keep you from making the most of your transitional housing program, the Happify app can help. Happify is available for iOS and Android.

Main features:

• Select one of three different subscription plans to best suit your financial situation.
• Choose a goal such as coping with stress or conquering negative thoughts and track your progress as you improve and gain new skills.
• Complete simple activities and games to break old habits and build new, healthier ones.
• Manage feelings of depression, stress, anxiety, or negativity as you learn to adjust to your new sober lifestyle.

Transitioning out of rehab and into a transitional living program is full of challenges and obstacles, but Eudaimonia provides a number of recovery support resources to make the transition that much easier. If you have found yourself struggling to adjust to a sober living program or needing some extra support, please talk to your program coordinator, sober living house manager, or Eudaimonia sober coach. He or she will be able to provide additional support and guidance throughout this transition.

If you are getting ready to transition out of your sober living home and back into independent life at home, one of these sobriety apps may serve as a supplementary tool to enhance your 12-Step meeting participation or outpatient program.

For more information on our sober living houses or our transitional living programs for men and women, please contact our admissions team today.

References:

1. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/12-steps-companion/id295775656?mt=8
2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.deanhuff.companion&hl=en
3. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/days-sobriety-clocks/id566975787?mt=8
4. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.parkerstech.day&hl=en
5. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twenty-four-hours-a-day/id389029534?mt=8
6. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.hazelden.twentyfourhours&hl=en
7. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sober-grid/id912632260?mt=8
8. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sobergrid&hl=en
9. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/happify-for-stress-anxiety/id730601963?mt=8
10. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happify.happifyinc&hl=en
11. https://my.happify.com/