Why Helping Others Helps You Stay Sober (E86)
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Gill discusses how helping others helps us. You’ll learn about some studies on helping others, what a helper’s high is, and what oxytocin is. She explains some studies that looked at people in recovery helping others and how that impacts their own sobriety, why we are drawn to personal stories of recovery, and give you some ideas on how you can start helping others if you don’t want to do it publicly. She also describes the difference between helping others purely because you feel the drive to, versus helping others with the intention of money, followers, or fame.
What to listen to next:
E79: Why We Romanticize Alcohol
E80: Benefits of a Dry Month
E62: Dopamine and Addiction
Quick start to sobriety ebook (free download)
https://www.soberpowered.com/quick-start-to-sobriety
Meetings:
https://aa-intergroup.org/
https://www.smartrecovery.org/community/calendar.php
https://recoverydharma.org/meeting-list
https://www.theluckiestclub.com/join-community
https://jointempest.com/membership/
https://eastcoastsobersquad.com/events
Find a Therapist in the US:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists
Therapy for everyone:
https://www.betterhelp.com/
Treatment:
https://www.banyantreatmentcenter.com/
https://sobernation.com/rehabs/
Sources
Hanniball, K. Does helping promote well-being in at-risk youth and ex-offender samples? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 82: 307-317. 2019
Pagano ME, Wang AR, Rowles BM, Lee MT, Johnson BR. Social anxiety and peer helping in adolescent addiction treatment. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2015;39(5):887-895.
Pagano ME, White WL, Kelly JF, Stout RL, Tonigan JS. The 10-year course of Alcoholics Anonymous participation and long-term outcomes: a follow-up study of outpatient subjects in Project MATCH. Subst Abus. 2013;34(1):51-59. doi:10.1080/08897077.2012.691450
Hopper, E. How helping others can help at-risk people. Greater Good MagazineI. 2019.
Case Western Reserve University. "Helping others helps alcoholics stay on the road to recovery." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 January 2011.
Dossey, L. The Helper’s High. Explore. 14:6. 393-399. 2018.
Clare Grall, Ron Tamborini, René Weber, Ralf Schmälzle, Stories Collectively Engage Listeners’ Brains: Enhanced Intersubject Correlations during Reception of Personal Narratives, Journal of Communication, Volume 71, Issue 2, April 2021, Pages 332–355
Cite this episode
Tietz, G. Episode 86: Why Helping Others Helps You Stay Sober. Sober Powered. 2022.
