ANDI: Online Resources
Programs and services located online to help people address issues and concerns related to the use of substances.
National Organizations
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorder. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information. There is a online treatment locator as well.
- Smart Recovery® (Self-Management And Recovery Training) helps people recover from all types of addictive behaviors, including: alcoholism, drug use disorder, substance use disorder, drug addiction, alcohol use disorder, gambling addiction, cocaine addiction, and addiction to other substances and activities. SMART Recovery® offers free face-to-face and online mutual help groups. The website provides more information about the group, as well as links to the 300+ face-to-face meetings offered around the world, 16+ online meetings per week and their online message board for additional support.
Podcasts
- SMART Recovery Podcasts- SMART Recovery podcasts offer topics from various professionals on different aspects of recovery, ranging from self-esteem to anxiety to the science of addiction. SMART Recovery is an evidence based approach that can support one in achieving harm reduction or abstinence.
- Sober Cast- Sober Cast was started by an anonymous podcaster who could not find AA speaker meetings in a podcast medium. Sober Cast features recordings of AA speaker meetings and workshops. Speaker meetings include the personal stories of individuals who no longer use alcohol. Workshop topics include How to Find a Sponsor, People of Color, LGBTQ, and Sex and Sobriety.
- Recovery Elevator- Recovery Elevator is a team formed by Paul Churchill. Paul made the personal decision to quit drinking and has been sober since 2014. Paul and his team offer multiple podcasts related to addiction. It involves a mix of professional resources, interviews, and personal stories of individuals who have recovered from addiction.
- The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation- is an addiction treatment and advocacy organization. The Foundation includes the nation's largest addiction and recovery publishing house, an addiction research center, as well as a prevention and educational unit for family members and professionals. The podcasts range from professional to personal experiences with addiction. The podcasts skew a bit clinical, but there is worthwhile information, in particular for the audience that wants to know more about the science of addiction.
- The Unruffled Podcast- is a weekly podcast hosted by Sondra Primeaux and Tammi Salas. These two ladies focus on women and their experiences in recovery. The duo offers creative opportunities focusing on change, vulnerability, art, and recovery. They focus on where art and creativity intersect with sobriety and recovery from predominately alcohol. They offer a platform for woman to share their experiences and creative approaches to sobriety.
Screening & Portion Websites
- AlcoholScreening.org- helps individuals assess their own alcohol consumption patterns to determine if their drinking is likely to be harming their health or increasing their risk for future harm. Through education and referral, the site urges folks whose drinking is harmful or hazardous to take positive action, and informs all adults who consume alcohol about guidelines and caveats for lower-risk drinking.
- Drinkaware- Alcohol Unit and Calorie Calculator. Drinkaware is an independent British alcohol awareness charity that provides consumers with information about the effects of alcohol. They have a great tool that they call "The Unit Calculator," which calculates how many standard drinks (units of alcohol) you have consumed over the course of one drinking session. However, the site is British, so they use the metric system, making it a little tricky for some of us non-metric Americans to know exactly how much to enter when it asks you if you had a half pint or 350mL of Bud last night.
- Rethinking Drinking- Rethinking Drinking, created by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Association of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), has a pretty slick Cocktail Content Calculator. Basically, they present you with a list of common cocktails (Margarita, Martini, etc) that you can choose from. Pick one, and they'll show you the ingredients of that drink, how much alcohol is in the cocktail, and how many standard drinks are contained in that one drink.
Video
- Recovery TV- Recovery TV was founded by Los Angeles SMART Recovery facilitator Ted Perkins. Recovery TV focuses on providing researched and unbiased news, useful information, positive reinforcement, motivation and inspiration that can help guide you or someone you care about towards a healthier life.