Reading Blogs in Recovery

The word blog is short for web log. This type of website is an online journal where individuals share their thoughts and opinions. Some of the more popular blogs have more than one contributor, but most of them will just include content provided by the owner of the site, perhaps with the occasional guest post from other people.

There are now many blogs devoted to recovery from alcoholism. These are usually written by people who still finding their way in sobriety. They are a great resource for anyone who is looking for advice, support and inspiration. Most of them have lively a comments area where visitors can contribute. Reading these blogs can feel like a privilege sometimes, because the author will often be sharing their inner concerns and hopes. It is like reading somebody’s diary. Such content can give the reader solace in the fact that they are not alone in having problems. Some of the most popular alcoholism recovery blogs include:

The Discovering Alcoholic

This blog is provided by a recovering alcoholic in the US called Gavin. He has been sober for over 16 years and has plenty of wisdom to share with his readers. The Discovering Alcoholic has been going since March 2007 and now includes an impressive amount of content that reflects a life is sobriety. The most wonderful thing about becoming sober is that it opens up the world to people – their life becomes a journey that can go in almost any direction. The Discovering Alcoholic takes the reader in many directions, and the content is often humorous. There is also a serious side of things, too, as the blog tackles some of the hot topics in the world of addiction and recovery. This website is aimed at all stripes of addict. Gavin considers all substance addictions as birds of a feather.

Healing Imperfectly

Healing Imperfectly is a touchingly honest blog by a woman who has been sober now almost a year and a half. She has not always found recovery easy and has never tried to hide this fact. Her words are likely to give great comfort to those who have also struggled in their recovery. This would probably include everyone who is on the path of sobriety. In recent months, the author of this blog has been stationed in Afghanistan, and it is interesting to hear how she is adjusting to sober life under such stressful conditions.

Mr. Sponsor Pants

Mr. Sponsor Pants has been put together by a recovering alcoholic with over two decades of sobriety under his belt. In his website, he offers his services as a virtual sponsor. It is even possible for readers to get advice and guidance from him via the comments section or by email. Mr. Sponsor Pants is a firm advocate of Alcoholics Anonymous, so his philosophy on recovery is closely related to the 12 Steps. He provides a nice selection of both short and long posts. His comment section is lively.

Writing My Way Sober

Writing My Way Sober is a relatively new blog that has been around for just over a year. The blog was launched when the author was still in the midst of her addiction. She describes herself as having been a high-functioning alcoholic. This is another honest blog that provides a diary of one person’s struggle to build a life in sobriety.

Being Sober

Being sober is a blog by a woman who has been sober many years with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. She has been blogging since 2005, and there are a couple of thousand posts on this website. The content focuses on applying AA program to real life, but it also features content related to the challenge of simply living sober.

The Benefits of Keeping a Blog in Recovery

Reading blogs can be highly beneficial for anyone in recovery. This type of resource can be inspirational people and keep the individual focused on the sober path. It can be even more beneficial if people begin their own recovery blog. These are some of the advantages of starting a recovery blog:

* An online blog is a type of journaling, and this is an activity that is recommended for people in recovery. It gives the individual the chance to learn more about themselves. It is also a good outlet for releasing frustrations and stress.
* When people begin a recovery blog, they gain a new form of support in the form of their readership. When things are going badly, these readers are able to leave comments that can offer practical advice or just offer a note of solidarity.
* Starting a blog means joining the online community of recovery bloggers.
* Keeping an online journal could be considered a form of service. This is because the content is going to be use to other people who are dealing with their own issues in addiction or recovery. Sometimes, just reading the right thing can completely change a person’s life. This can happen even when the author does not realize that they are writing anything of significance at the time. Helping other people in recovery benefits both parties in the exchange.
* When people become sober they can be left with a major void in their life. In the midst of their addiction, they will have spent most of their time and energy focused on alcohol. Once sober, they have plenty of spare time on their hands. Writing about recovery via a blog can be a beneficial way to make use of this time.
* Maintaining a blog takes discipline, but it is highly rewarding. Developing such discipline is going to be advantageous to anyone recovering from an addiction.

How to Begin a Blog

Starting a blog is easy and it does not need to involve spending any money. The most popular blogging platforms are wordpress.com and blogger.com. Both of these websites walk people through the process of starting up a blog. It is all straightforward. There are many tutorials available on these sites that will teach people the finer details of building a successful blog. There is no need to learn everything at once. It is possible for people to sign up on one of these blogging platforms and have their first post online within minutes.

In order to build up a loyal readership for the blog it is necessary to:

* Provide regular content – at least one (but preferably two) posts a week.
* The writing does not have to fancy, but it does need to be honest.
* Visiting and commenting on other people’s recovery blogs encourages them to return the compliment. When leaving a comment on another blog, it is usually possible to leave a link back the commenter’s website.
* It is not essential to allow comments on a blog, but it can be highly beneficial to do so because it encourages engagement with the reader. It is recommended that the owner of a blog responds to comments in a timely manner.
* It can take many months before a website gains a following. It is therefore important that bloggers have realistic expectations and do not expect to become famous overnight. Even if there are no visitors to the site, it can still bring benefits to the blogger as an outlet. Writing is cathartic and worth the effort.