There was a time when the only technology available to aid in your recovery from alcohol or drug use was the telephone and a phone book. This is not the case today as there are hundreds of applications and technologies available to support you.

Many of these technologies are available for free and have helped thousands of people maintain sobriety when away from home, cut off from others, or simply going through day-to-day challenges. Since there are far too many to list them all, let’s take a look at a few that have been particularly helpful to those in recovery.

Apps And Technology That Can Support Recovery

There are many ways technology can benefit those working hard to live a sober life. Simply being able to find AA and NA meetings or attending meetings remotely are two great examples. You might also enjoy quick access to things like guided meditation or a digital version of the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book. Here are some apps you will find helpful.

Video Conferencing

Getting to a meeting might be nearly impossible for some people. They might be ill and can’t leave the house, in a sparsely populated area, or traveling in a place where meetings aren’t available. In the past, these people were left with only the phone and their trusty Big Book or Basic Text to get them through the day. With the advent of video conferencing, this is no longer the case. If you have Internet access, you can attend no matter where you are. Here is a listing of AA Online Meetings and NA Online Meetings.

12 Steps AA Companion

This application is available through common app stores and costs $2.99 to download. For what it includes, it is well worth the price. You get a digital version of the Big Book with searchable text, a section exclusive for AA prayers, and a sobriety calculator. This app can help you when you’re in a bind and need to read the Big Book but don’t want to break your anonymity by using the recognizable blue book.

Headspace: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness

For those who have trouble meditating or for people who just want to start the practice, this free app can be incredibly helpful. It includes a number of guided meditations and tracks your time as you progress to longer sessions. If you are going to be somewhere without Internet, you may download sessions onto your phone for offline use. This is a great app for meditation and something everyone in recovery can benefit from.

Daily Reflection Apps

You will find a number of different options for daily meditation and reflection apps. Some are free and others have a small fee for downloading. There are many great apps available and you are bound to find one that speaks to you. They have reflections specifically for women and men, ones for people in recovery, and ones that are more metaphysical or religious based. Having a daily reflection app is great as it helps you start the day off right. If need be, you can read it again later if you find yourself feeling off.

Speaker Tapes

Speaker tapes used to be something you could only get at a convention or some other special recovery event. They were passed down from person to person and were coveted for the information they held. With the advent of the Internet, these tapes have found a new home and are enjoying a resurgence among people in recovery. If you don’t know, a speaker tape is a recording of an AA or NA speaker, usually circuit speakers. The tapes are then circulated and made available to everyone. Here are a few places you can find them:

• XA-Speakers

• RecoveryAudio

• Recovery Speakers

These websites should be compatible with your phone’s browser, but there are also apps available specifically for speaker tapes.

AA and NA Meeting Finders

There are apps available to help you locate meetings for both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. They’ll point you to meetings in specific places or find ones nearby. This is a great tool to have for any person who is traveling. It can save you the time of having to call Intergroup or search for local meetings online.

The Counseling Center Is Here To Support Your Recovery

Hopefully you find this list helpful and start to use some of these apps and technology to enrich your own sobriety. If you are looking for something more, The Counseling Center can provide expert substance use guidance in a welcoming outpatient setting. Call 866-850-5001 or fill out our form for more information.