About LifeRing

LifeRing Secular Recovery is an organization of people who share practical experiences and sobriety support. There are as many ways to live free of illicit or non-medically indicated drugs and alcohol as there are stories of successful sober people. Many LifeRing members attend other kinds of meetings or recovery programs, and we honor those decisions. Some have had negative experiences in attempting to find help elsewhere, but most people soon find that LifeRing’s emphasis on the positive, practical present-day can turn anger and despair into hope and resolve. LifeRing respectfully embraces what works for each individual.

LifeRing believes you DO have the power to overcome your addiction. It’s hard, there are often setbacks, but in every addict there exists the desire to find lasting sobriety. We think of that as the Sober Self. With addiction, that part of us has been beaten down and relegated to a corner of our brains, but it’s still there. We also have an Addict Self that wants to control our decision-making and lead us to use the substance that is wrecking our lives.

LifeRing tries to support your efforts to strengthen the Sober Self and weaken the Addict Self. Our meetings, whether in person or online, consist of addicts using their Sober Self to connect with the Sober Self of other addicts. We share advice, understanding, and encouragement. We focus primarily on our current lives, not on the hurts and damages of the past. Two addicts, talking Sober-Self to Sober-Self, learn from each other, and gain strength from each other.

Steps, and Higher Powers and Sponsors – those work for some people very well. Our approach is different. We think YOU are the best person to design your Own Personal Recovery Program – you know what’s needed in your life and what has to be abandoned. You know what triggers cravings and what provides healthy and strengthening pleasure. You know the path you want to be on and you are the only person who can figure out how best to get there. LifeRing provides safe and supportive contact with others that enables that process to succeed.

LifeRing provides support for you to get and stay addiction free. You do the hard work, and we offer information, advice, understanding, and lots of support through local in-person meetings, online meetings, other online resources, and a variety of publications. Some key points about how the LifeRing recovery process works can be found below.