The Best Alcoholism Apps of the Year

Healthline has selected these apps based on their quality, user reviews, and overall reliability as a source of support for people living with alcoholism. If you want to nominate an app for this list, email Healthline at [email protected]. This article appeared originally at http://www.healthline.com

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 15.1 million adults ages 18 and older have alcoholism.

Stop Drinking with Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson’s app is designed for heavy drinkers who are trying to either cut back or stop drinking altogether. It uses hypnotherapy, positive suggestions, and visualization to help you achieve your goal. You can set reminders throughout the day for times when you may need some help relaxing and refocusing.

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

This app is based on the best-selling book of the same name. It’s been helping people with sobriety for years. The app offers 366 daily meditations from the book at your fingertips, making it easier for people to have help between meetings or anytime it’s needed. Many of the meditations include prayer and religious teachings. The newest update gives phone users the ability to share its daily messages by text.

AlcoDroid Alcohol Tracker

AlcoDroid tracks your alcohol consumption, making it a good possible starting point if you suspect you misuse alcohol. Use it to log your drinks and see how often you’re drinking. The app will also give an estimated blood alcohol content based on your log. It can be set to track how much you spend on drinks as well.

12 Steps AA Companion

This app is based on the 12-step program from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Each step represents part of the healing and recovery process. You get the Big Book of AA at your fingertips, with prayers, promises, and the ability to highlight and share text. A sobriety calculator keeps track of how many years, months, days, and hours you’ve been sober.

I Am Sober

Every day of sobriety is a victory. Reminding yourself of how much you’ve accomplished can help you stay on track. This app keeps track of these victories, including how long you’ve been sober and how much money you’ve saved by not buying alcohol. It notifies you when you reach new milestones and lets you set times to get daily notifications on your progress.

Happify

Anxiety and depression are often closely linked to alcoholism. Happify is designed to help you learn positive ways to cope with these moods instead of engaging in unhealthy behaviors. The app includes over 30 audio recordings. They’ll guide you toward positive thoughts. The recordings use evidence-based techniques shown to work in positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Coach.me

This app wasn’t specifically designed for addiction, but it’s made to help you set a goal and work toward it. You can use it to help limit or quit drinking, track sober days, or as a way to practice new healthy habits, like getting regular exercise. Coach.me uses the power of positive reinforcement to help you achieve your goals and feel good about it.

SoberTool

SoberTool is designed specifically for people with alcoholism. It combines several features seen in the other apps we’ve mentioned. It tracks both days sober and money saved. There’s also a community forum where you can share messages as well as daily motivational messages and reminders to read them. One of its most unique tools is the ability to help you develop the best personalized relapse prevention based on a few questions in the app.

nomo – Sobriety Clocks

This app was actually created by someone in recovery to help himself keep on track and motivated. Set sobriety clocks to track how long it’s been since your last drink in this app. You can also find accountability partners and share your information with them. Earn chips for recovery milestones, too. The app even has little distraction exercises to help your mind refocus during intense cravings.

Daybreak

Whether you’re stopping drinking altogether or trying to cut back, a good support system can be a big help. Daybreak is designed to help you connect with a supportive community as well as health and well-being coaches. You can track your progress with weekly check-ins or set notifications for when you think you’ll need check-ins.

Sober Grid

Making new connections during recovery can be important. Sober Grid is a social network for sobriety. In addition to tracking your days sober, the app helps you find other sober people both near you and around the world to share and chat with. Choose to remain anonymous and share as much or as little as you like.

Flipd

Flipd is another app that’s not made specifically for addiction, but it does help you focus and practice productivity. Use it to block distractions and help yourself refocus on important tasks. The app primarily focuses on stepping away from your phone to unwind, engaging in other activities, and avoiding procrastination. It actually locks you out of your phone during designated times, except for making outbound emergency calls and receiving incoming calls.

recoveryBox

There isn’t just one approach to recovery. It often requires several tools to keep you on course. This app is designed to keep you accountable for your own behavior by logging your “lights” — red for “acting out,” yellow for “warning,” and green for “way to go.” The idea behind this is that you can’t change your behavior until you recognize it. This app aims to help you do both.

Field Guide to Life

The first steps are often the hardest. While Field Guide was designed for people new to addiction recovery, it can be used at any stage. The app focuses on taking things one day at a time with daily inspiring messages and activities, a sobriety counter that can be seen every time you open the app, and videos featuring recovery experts. You can also store up to five images of people or things that keep you motivated to stay sober.