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You can contact the Finnish Student Health Service, FSHS, if you are not feeling mentally well or worried about your alcohol or drug use. They have psychiatric nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists. On this page you will find more information and useful links regarding mental health. Member with whom we can feel comfortable, someone with whom we can talk freely and confidentially, and we ask that person to be our sponsor.

A sponsor does everything they can within their personal boundaries and knowledge to help a newcomer get sober and stay sober using the tools of AA. However, a sponsor and sponsee relationship is an important one. Not only does relatability help establish rapport, but it also provides encouragement and a light at the end of the tunnel for alcohol consumption your recovery. If your sponsor doesn’t fit the descriptions above, it may be time to find a different one to support your recovery. You can confide with your sponsor and share anything you might not be comfortable sharing in meetings. You can also talk to them about anything you want to discuss further or unpack outside the meetings.

They should be able to provide relatable knowledge and experience to help guide you through the 12 steps. The relationship between an AA sponsor and a sponsee should be mutually beneficial. Typically, AA sponsors are people who have completed the AA recovery program. They need to know how the process works and how to help you achieve sobriety.

• The approach to the AA sponsor and sponsee relationship is informal, with no written rules about how often they should communicate or how the AA sponsor should help.
• Just because someone is sober and has been in the program for some time does not automatically mean they are willing to be a sponsor.
• Unfortunately, less than eight percent of those affected receive treatment.
• Resist the temptation to call a friend because they’ll lack objectivity and will likely not give you the same advice a sponsor would.

The idea behind having a sponsor in AA is to help those recovering from alcohol misuse have someone to keep them accountable and to offer support and guidance throughout the journey. While it is certainly possible to stay sober without a sponsor, having one along the way can make the process more successful. Available throughout the country, AA meetings comfort people suffering fromalcohol use disorderby surrounding them with peers going through the same thing. Whether they are newly sober or have already been on the journey to sobriety for a long time, people dealing with addiction to alcohol can find AA helpful when it comes to staying on a sober path.

Working the programme of AA

That being said, it’s reasonable to assume that the time involved is measured in hours, not minutes. Anyone who is moving along a journey of recovery from an addiction could be a sponsee. what is a high functioning alcoholic Sometimes, a sponsee is new to sobriety and the 12-Step movement and needs a little guidance from a mentor in order to understand the challenges and expectations of the recovery process.

Like any relationship, people should think about who they would be compatible with, what they value in a sponsor, and how they would like to approach recovery. A frequently overlooked factor is the notion of choosing the type of sponsor one needs, rather than the one they want. The needed sponsor may make recovery uncomfortable and challenging at times, but this discomfort may lead to more significant benefits in the long run. Having a sponsor isn’t a necessary element of 12-step groups, but having a mentor to guide the process can help facilitate movement through the steps and maintain sobriety.

Carrying the message of AA

We are so grateful that Tommy answered the phone late that night. It was the call that ended our nightmare, and began the journey of healing for our son. You have nothing to lose, and many rehabs make this a requirement for their patients. Call 24/7 to have a discussion with one of our treatment professionals the call is completely free. Admission Line and explanation of convenient private phone and free prescreening.

This can include attendance at AA meetings and possible work with a sponsor. AlcoholicsAnonymous.com is a referrer service that provides information about addiction treatment practitioners and facilities. AlcoholicsAnonymous.com is not a medical provider or treatment facility and does not provide medical advice.

Sponsor and Sponsee Relationship

There are many ways that you can help an alcoholic family member. How COVID-19 Has Impacted Alcohol AbuseAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the numbers of alcohol abuse have continued to rise, causing concern across America. All Alcoholrehabhelp content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible. If you prefer a different approach, there are alternatives to an AA sponsor. An addiction coach is another option for those struggling with addiction. That’s why AA recommends choosing a sponsor of your own gender, which will help keep your focus exactly where it needs to be – on recovery.

In addition, the first limitation may have led to the recruitment of sponsors who were less severely alcohol dependent. First, the non-random sampling strategy may have resulted in unrepresentative sample of sponsors. Finally, a number of participants recognized that the role of sponsorship changed over time as the sponsee developed a longer period of sobriety, often growing into a genuine friendship. 1 shows the average consumption of alcohol per day at the peak of the sponsors’ drinking (median 12, IQR 20, range 10–70; mean 31.6, SD 16.3). The median duration of heavy drinking was 12 years (IQR 14, range 3–27). The median length of AA attendance was 9.5 years (range 5–28).

As with most elements of AA, choosing a sponsor is a very informal and easy process. Finding a sponsor and forming a relationship requires no specific formula or system. Medically Reviewed By Eric Patterson, LPCA licensed behavioral health or medical professional on The Recovery Village Editorial Team has analyzed and confirmed every statistic, study and medical claim on this page. If you’re serious about getting a sponsor, and you’ve identified 2-3 people , it’s time to take a chance and ask one of them to sponsor you. And like many things in the spiritual realm, the tremendous things that come from prayer are often unexplainable and work out better than we could have planned ourselves.

AA activity and sponsoring behaviour

In fact, the opposite is true; getting a sponsor in AA is nearly synonymous with the 12-steps. What’s interesting, though, is that the 12 steps nor the Big Book mention sponsorship explicitly, even though both provide detailed instructions on nearly every other aspect of recovery. Being available to answer questions, share anecdotes from their past experiences with addiction, and connect and guide a sponsee with tough situations and decisions. This may seem like a short to-do list, but there is quite a bit involved. An AA sponsor might be required to provide around-the-clock crisis support for sponsees, so those people have someone to call when they are in the midst of a sobriety challenge.

Will you have them text you when they attend a meeting or complete a step-related task? While there are multiple ways you can approach sponsorship, the important thing is to be clear about how the process will take place. The best tip for how to find an AA sponsor is to regularly attend AA 12-step meetings. That’s because AA 12-step meetings are the best places to meet other recovering alcoholics. The only real requirement to become a sponsor is a desire to help people and the will to dedicate your time to support those who need guidance along their sobriety journey. A strong commitment to leading a lifestyle free of alcohol is a must to set a great example for those that you’re sponsoring.

Can You Check a Young Adult into Rehab?

Sponsorship is an important part of the 12-step recovery program. It is important to understandthe role of an alcohol withdrawal scale awsbefore choosing to become one. If you or a loved one need treatment, contact us now and we can get you set up at our Orange County rehab. This can be anything from fluffing your answer to an uncomfortable question to deleting relevant facts that might paint you in a bad light. There can be consequences to this, especially among loved ones. Knowing when to call your AA sponsor is sometimes difficult and confusing, especially if you are fresh out of a treatment program.

The number of sponsors who had active sponsees was lower than we expected. The average number was one per sponsor but there was a wide range (0–17). Despite the fact that all the respondents had been a sponsor in the past, 11 had no current sponsee .