Now that you have stopped: 15 Points

Here are some practical tips, based on our experience, which may help you to stay sober.

Many of us:

1. Attend plenty of AA meetings.

2. Join a home group, which we attend regularly, where we get to know people and find a sense of belonging.

3. Get involved in AA. For example, there is a lot to be done before and after the meeting, ensuring that it takes place.We can always give a hand and ask where our help is needed.

4. Read the “Big Book”, the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous, where we learn about the suggested programme of recovery that allows many of us to stay sober.

5. Begin the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with the help of a sponsor — another member who has had moretime living sober and who has also taken the Twelve Steps.

We also:

6. Collect phone numbers of other members. As we suggest,“Pick up the phone before you pick up a drink!”

7. Call other members to ask how they are doing, allowing us not to focus too much on ourselves.

8. Find it very helpful and often feel great joy when we sharewith someone even newer how we have managed to stay sober so far. Sometimes a newcomer can relate better to the member who has been sober for a few months than to one who has been sober for some years.

9. Find relief by taking positive actions if the thought of a drinkcomes to us, such as: going to a meeting, calling anothermember, asking how we could help somebody, reading some AA literature, or saying the Serenity Prayer.

10. Learn to become aware of possible triggers, such as being hungry, angry, lonely or tired (“HALT”).

It is very helpful for us to:

11. Recognise the things for which we can be grateful and write a daily gratitude list.

12. Understand that we do have a choice in attending events where there is a lot of drinking. We do not have to go, andif we do, we can always leave whenever we want.

13. Ask for a sober day in the morning and give thanks for a sober day in the evening.

14. Have a 24-hour plan for living the day without taking a drink. We do not have to worry about staying sober for the rest of our lives. Just for today is enough.

15. Remember that AA is a Fellowship, whose members have a wealth of experience in achieving long-term sobriety. This experience is available to anyone who wants what we have.