LifeRing Secular Recovery
Encyclopedia
LifeRing Secular Recovery (LifeRing or LSR) is a secular, non-profit organization providing peer-run addiction recovery groups
for anyone with a desire to recover from alcohol and drug addiction or who are in a relationship with an addict or alcoholic. LifeRing split from Secular Organizations for Sobriety
in 1997, and incorporated officially in 1999. LifeRing has meetings in the United States
, Canada
and Europe
.
LifeRing encourages an experimental approach to maintaining abstinence
from addictive drugs and its members are free to incorporate ideas from any source they find useful, including other addiction recovery groups. LifeRing encourages members to use relapse
s as learning experiences and discourages admonishing members for relapsing. The LifeRing philosophy is expressed in three principles: Sobriety
, Secularity
, and Self-Help
. Sobriety is defined as abstinence from alcohol
and addictive drugs (prescription
or otherwise). According to the principle of Secularity, LifeRing meetings do not open with prayer
s and members are not encouraged to believe in a Supreme Being
. The principle of Self-Help encourages each member to develop their own program of recovery. Unlike twelve-step program
s, members do not have sponsors, but are encouraged to help each other. Meetings are run by peers, not led by professionals, and members are allowed to give each other feedback during them.
LifeRing uses the book How Was Your Week which replaced the Handbook of Secular Recovery which replaced the text used in Sobriety handbook, the SOS way: an introduction to Secular Organizations for Sobriety.
Family members and friends of LifeRing members can attend meetings provided they are clean and sober at the time of the meeting. A separate LifeRing Partners organization is planned.
Lifering has more than 150 meetings in the U.S. and several foreign countries. Online, it has daily meetings plus multiple email support lists, a social networking site and a bulletin board forum.
Addiction recovery groups
Addiction recovery groups are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome drug addiction. Different groups use different methods, ranging from completely secular to explicitly spiritual. One survey of members found active involvement in any addiction recovery group...
for anyone with a desire to recover from alcohol and drug addiction or who are in a relationship with an addict or alcoholic. LifeRing split from Secular Organizations for Sobriety
Secular Organizations for Sobriety
Secular Organizations For Sobriety , also known as Save Our Selves, is a non-profit network of autonomous addiction recovery groups. The program stresses the need to place the highest priority on sobriety and uses mutual support to assist members in achieving this goal...
in 1997, and incorporated officially in 1999. LifeRing has meetings in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
LifeRing encourages an experimental approach to maintaining abstinence
Abstinence
Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical...
from addictive drugs and its members are free to incorporate ideas from any source they find useful, including other addiction recovery groups. LifeRing encourages members to use relapse
Relapse
Relapse, in relation to drug misuse, is resuming the use of a drug or a dependent substance after one or more periods of abstinence. The term is a landmark feature of both substance dependence and substance abuse, which are learned behaviors, and is maintained by neuronal adaptations that mediate...
s as learning experiences and discourages admonishing members for relapsing. The LifeRing philosophy is expressed in three principles: Sobriety
Sobriety
Sobriety is the condition of not having any measurable levels, or effects from, alcohol or other drugs that alter ones mood or behaviors. According to WHO "Lexicon of alcohol and drug terms..." sobriety is continued abstinence from alcohol and psychoactive drug use...
, Secularity
Secularity
Secularity is the state of being separate from religion.For instance, eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them...
, and Self-Help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
. Sobriety is defined as abstinence from alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
and addictive drugs (prescription
Prescription drug
A prescription medication is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a medical prescription before it can be obtained. The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription...
or otherwise). According to the principle of Secularity, LifeRing meetings do not open with prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
s and members are not encouraged to believe in a Supreme Being
Supreme Being
The term Supreme Being is often defined simply as "God", and it is used with this meaning by theologians of many religious faiths, including, but not limited to, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Deism. However, the term can also refer to more complex or philosophical interpretations of the...
. The principle of Self-Help encourages each member to develop their own program of recovery. Unlike twelve-step program
Twelve-step program
A Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems...
s, members do not have sponsors, but are encouraged to help each other. Meetings are run by peers, not led by professionals, and members are allowed to give each other feedback during them.
LifeRing uses the book How Was Your Week which replaced the Handbook of Secular Recovery which replaced the text used in Sobriety handbook, the SOS way: an introduction to Secular Organizations for Sobriety.
Family members and friends of LifeRing members can attend meetings provided they are clean and sober at the time of the meeting. A separate LifeRing Partners organization is planned.
Lifering has more than 150 meetings in the U.S. and several foreign countries. Online, it has daily meetings plus multiple email support lists, a social networking site and a bulletin board forum.
See also
- Addiction recovery groupsAddiction recovery groupsAddiction recovery groups are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome drug addiction. Different groups use different methods, ranging from completely secular to explicitly spiritual. One survey of members found active involvement in any addiction recovery group...
- AlcoholismAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy
- Drug addiction
- Rational Emotive Behavior TherapyRational emotive behavior therapyRational emotive behavior therapy , previously called rational therapy and rational emotive therapy, is a comprehensive, active-directive, philosophically and empirically based psychotherapy which focuses on resolving emotional and behavioral problems and disturbances and enabling people to lead...
- Rational RecoveryRational RecoveryRational Recovery and Rational Recovery Systems, Inc. is a commercial vendor of material related to counseling, guidance, and direct instruction for addiction designed as a direct counterpoint to Alcoholics Anonymous and twelve-step programs. Rational Recovery Systems, Inc. was founded in 1986 by...
- SMART RecoverySMART RecoverySMART Recovery is an international non-profit organization which provides assistance to individuals seeking abstinence from addictive behaviors. The approach used is secular and science-based using non-confrontational motivational, behavioral and cognitive methods...
- Women For SobrietyWomen For SobrietyWomen For Sobriety, Inc. , is a non-profit secular addiction recovery group for women with alcohol problems or alcohol dependence. WFS was created by sociologist Jean Kirkpatrick in 1976 as an alternative to twelve-step addiction recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous . As of 1998 there were...