Recovery Resources

What is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)?

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a free, worldwide fellowship of people who help one another get and stay sober. Founded in 1935, it rests on a simple idea: one alcoholic helping another. There are no dues or fees, no paperwork, and no requirement beyond a desire to stop drinking. Members share their experience, strength, and hope at regular meetings and work a program of recovery known as the Twelve Steps. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution. Meetings run in person and online, day and night — you can find an AA meeting near you on SobrNav.

What is Narcotics Anonymous (NA)?

Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a free, nonprofit fellowship for people recovering from drug addiction of any kind. NA grew out of the AA program in the early 1950s and adapts the same Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to recovery from drugs rather than alcohol. Its focus is on the disease of addiction itself rather than any single substance, and the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using. Members support one another through meetings, sponsorship, and a shared program. Browse NA meetings near you or join an online NA meeting.

What is Cocaine Anonymous (CA)?

Cocaine Anonymous (CA) is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength, and hope to recover from addiction to cocaine and all other mind-altering substances. Like AA and NA, CA is free, anonymous, and based on the Twelve Steps; the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using. SobrNav does not yet list individual CA meetings, but you can find them directly through Cocaine Anonymous World Services. Many people in cocaine or stimulant recovery also attend NA meetings, which welcome recovery from any drug.

Open vs. closed meetings

Most fellowships hold two kinds of meetings:

• Open meetings are available to anyone — including family, friends, students, and people who simply want to learn more. You do not have to identify as an alcoholic or addict to attend.
• Closed meetings are for people who have a desire to stop drinking or using — that is, for those in recovery or who think they may have a problem. Closed meetings give members a private space to speak freely.

If it's your first time and you're unsure, an open meeting is a welcoming place to start. On SobrNav, each listing notes whether a meeting is open or closed where that information is available.

What to expect at your first meeting

Walking into your first meeting can feel intimidating, but meetings are built to be welcoming and judgment-free. Here's what usually happens:

• Arrive a few minutes early — someone will often greet you. You can say you're new, or say nothing at all.
• You are never required to speak. Listening is completely okay, and many people just listen for their first several meetings.
• Meetings typically open with a reading, followed by a speaker or open sharing, and close with a moment of reflection.
• There is no cost. A basket may be passed for voluntary contributions toward rent and coffee, but you never have to give anything.
• What's said in the room stays in the room — anonymity and confidentiality are core values.

For more, see our first-time guide.

Sponsorship

A sponsor is a more experienced member who has worked the Twelve Steps and agrees to guide you through your own recovery. A sponsor is not a therapist and isn't paid, and the relationship is confidential. To find one, attend meetings regularly, listen for someone whose recovery you respect, and simply ask — most members are honored to help. A sponsor gives you someone to call before you drink or use, someone to work the Steps with, and someone who understands exactly what you're going through.

The 12 Steps

The Twelve Steps are the heart of the recovery program — a practical sequence of actions for changing how you live. They are shared, in adapted form, by AA, NA, CA, and many other fellowships.

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The Twelve Steps are adapted from those originally published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S.). SobrNav is not affiliated with A.A.W.S., which has not reviewed or approved this content.

The 12 Traditions

If the Steps guide the individual, the Twelve Traditions guide the groups — keeping each fellowship unified, self-supporting, and focused on its single purpose of helping the person who still suffers.

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking (or using).
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or the fellowship as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the person who still suffers.
6. A group ought never endorse, finance, or lend its name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. The fellowship should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. The fellowship, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. The fellowship has no opinion on outside issues; hence our name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The Twelve Traditions are adapted from those originally published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S.). SobrNav is not affiliated with A.A.W.S., which has not reviewed or approved this content.

Relapse prevention

Recovery is a process, and many people experience setbacks. A relapse is not a moral failure — it's a signal to lean harder on your support network. Tools that help:

• Go to more meetings, especially when cravings or stress spike. Find a meeting happening now.
• Stay connected to your sponsor and recovery friends; isolation is a warning sign.
• Know your triggers — the classic H.A.L.T.: don't get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired — and have a plan for each.
• Keep a routine with steady sleep, food, and structure.
• If you do relapse, reach out immediately rather than waiting. Returning to a meeting is always welcome, and you can start again today.

If you or someone else is in danger, call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or 911.

Online & virtual recovery meetings

You can attend recovery meetings from anywhere. SobrNav lists thousands of online and hybrid AA and NA meetings, including 24/7 options. Online meetings are usually held over video (commonly Zoom) — open a meeting and use the join link to attend from your phone or computer, with cameras optional. Browse all online meetings →

12-step & peer-support fellowships

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) — The original 12-step fellowship for recovery from alcoholism.
• Narcotics Anonymous (NA) — Worldwide fellowship for those recovering from drug addiction.
• Cocaine Anonymous (CA) — 12-step recovery for people addicted to cocaine and all other mind-altering substances.
• Al-Anon Family Groups — Support for the families and friends of problem drinkers.
• Nar-Anon Family Groups — Support for relatives and friends affected by someone else's addiction.
• SMART Recovery — Science-based, self-empowering addiction recovery support.
• Celebrate Recovery — A Christ-centered 12-step recovery program.

Crisis & national helplines

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — Call or text 988, 24/7, for free and confidential support in a crisis.
• SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-HELP (4357) — Free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referral and information service.
• FindTreatment.gov — Confidential, anonymous resource for locating treatment facilities in the U.S.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911.