First, if you haven’t been to Reddit yet, go now. Take a few minutes to comb through the internet’s treasures (and trash), all compiled in a one-stop digital shop. Then come back and read more about sober subreddits. Be warned – it’s easy to lose track of time on the “front page of the internet.”
I’ve been a Redditor for going on three years now. My little brother, a techno-guru in his own right, introduced me to the community. Some of my time on Reddit was not spent sober. During that stage in my life, I visited quite a few subreddits of ill repute – the ones where, afterwards, you clear your browser history.
But for almost two years now, I’ve devoted a considerable amount of energy to Reddit’s sobriety community. This replaced my penchant for finding sketchy subreddits. The following subreddits are devoted to sobriety and recovery from drug addiction and/or alcoholism. These are listed in order of popularity, measured by the amount of subscribers./r/stopdrinking
Description: Community and support for redditors trying to quit drinking alcohol. There is also a healthy amount of people who are sober and share their experience. You can even register an official sobriety date. Once you register a sobriety date, you’ll receive a badge next to your username with your sober time. Anytime you post, it appears with your username.
Email a review on /r/stopdrinking
Subscribers: 13,819
Description: Community and support for redditors trying to quit marijuana. Highly active community. While marijuana isn’t physically addictive, it can definitely be psychologically addictive. I know because I used to toke twenty-four seven. They called me “the Dude” in college. You get the picture.
Subscribers: 10,385
Description: I got lazy and clipped their description straight from the subreddit: A place for Redditors in recovery to hang out, share experiences and support each other. Discuss the various ways to achieve and maintain a life free from active addiction. Everyone is welcome.
Email a review on /r/RedditorsInRecovery
Subscribers: 3,670
Description: Lazy again. Straight from the moderators at /r/alcoholism, here’s an overview of this subreddit: Information and support for those affected by alcoholism. If you are concerned about alcohol’s affect on your life or a loved one’s life, please feel welcome.
Email a review on /r/alcoholism
Subscribers: 3,169
Description: This is one of my favorite addiction-related subreddits because I got sober from a nasty opiate and heroin addiction. I recognize the profound difficulty each opiate/heroin addict faces when starting on a path of recovery.
I try to make it a point to comment on a thread at least once a week. It helps my sobriety to stay involved with my beloved junkies here.
With American starting to feel the punishing scourge of opiate/heroin addiction, this can be a great place to reach out if you’re looking to get clean.
Email a review on /r/OpiatesRecovery
Subscribers: 2,417
Description: Some subreddits aren’t strictly moderated, so you may have to deal with a little “blog spam.” Blog spam is a term that refers to someone posting articles for a specific website that they work for or are affiliated with. I get why many subreddits don’t allow it. But I feel if you are writing curated, specific content and not abusing the system, you should be able to post. I definitely plug my articles on the subreddits that allow it.
In spite of a little spam here and there, you’ll definitely find some quality information. I peruse it daily. Many people reach out to the community with questions. It is always best, however, to bounce the answers received off a qualified professional (therapist, doctor, addiction counselor).
Email a review on /r/addiction
Subscribers: 1,214
Description: It can be difficult translating the higher power we hear in the rooms into one that makes sense for us non-theists. Difficult, but not impossible. Let’s pool our strength in this subreddit. Share our ideas about our concept of a higher power and how we use that power to recover.
Email a review on /r/AtheistTwelveSteppers
Subscribers: 617
Description: A place to discuss addiction openly and honestly, without judgment of a divine being and a focus on how to deal with and manage your use.
Email a review on /r/secularsobriety
Subscribers: 297
My Experience on Sober Subreddits
I’m no sober subreddit guru. I genuinely wish I could participate more. What I can say is that involvement in these communities, specifically /r/stopdrinking, /r/addiction and /r/OpiatesRecovery has strengthened my resolve to stay sober.
A couple months ago, I started to struggle. I slacked on my program of recovery just a little. The effects rippled through my life, affecting my job performance and personal life. Sober subreddits were there to pick me up. Just reading the experiences of other Redditors, some inspiring, some difficult, offered something like a digital/virtual recovery meeting.
Alcoholics and drug addicts tend to feel that their personal problems exclusively reside with them alone. Coming up on 2 years sober, I can still fall into that same mentality. It can be crippling. Some ride that lonesome straddle to relapse. Others die from a return to drug use. But I know that, like me, there are some who find inspiration to reignite the resolve to stay strong in sobriety.
So thanks to all the sober subreddits out there, even the ones I failed to mention. I’d like to express even more gratitude to the ones who participate. These recovery refuges offer a very discreet way for someone interested in recovery from substance abuse to begin to change.
If you are sober, browse one of the subreddits I listed. Support and community is one click away. If you’re hesitant or indecisive on whether you should get sober, the same principle applies. You can post anonymously and ask experienced sober Redditors for advice.
Take a Louisville slugger to addiction’s curveball. Reddit can help make sure you don’t swing and miss.
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