Recovery on Social Media

This article is by Recovery Connection

 

You live in a time where the world revolves around Facebook and Twitter. Nothing is official or newsworthy unless you have updated your status and shared with you 700 closest cyber friends. If you want to post about a promotion at work or how wonderful your significant other is, then take a minute to get on your phone, tablet or laptop and update. But how much do you share?  There are certain things you might want to think twice about, especially when you are in recovery. Social media can be fun and when you have few other outlets, it can provide great support in recovery. But used unwisely, it can be detrimental to your recovery or the recovery of others.

Overexposed Online

You might think that social media is harmless, but it can do damage to you and others. Here are just a few ways that using different social platforms becomes an enemy to recovery.

  • Gossip: You hear a lot of private stories from people in meetings. Perhaps some stories were shocking or inspirational to you. As much as you want to share it, remember that what is said in AA/NA meetings or group therapy is private. You don’t want to violate someone else’s privacy, nor would you want someone to do that to you.
  • Causing drama: Each AA/NA group or group therapy has its own dynamic. People will click or butt heads. If there is anything going on within the group, it’s best to deal with it in person rather than talking about it online. Causing drama leads to you or someone else getting angry or hurt, which is a slippery slope.

Treading Lightly

Being proud of your accomplishments in your recovery and wanting to share them with your social network is natural. After all, you are working hard to achieve your goals of sobriety. But you should tread lightly with the information you share online. You don’t want to share too much about yourself or others.

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