Know Your Options

There are many alcohol and other drug services available to support people in recovery.

Call the Alcohol and Drug Information Service on 1300 13 1340 or visit Know Your Options to find out what services are available to support you.

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and SMART Recovery are offering face-to-face and online meetings. To find out more about meetings, including meeting times, click on one of the links below.

As COVID-19 restrictions roll back, it may not be safe for everybody to leave the house, but physically distant doesn’t have to mean socially distant. As we continue to practice social distancing, having a virtual support network can help you stay connected to people. Make a list of supportive people that you want to connect with. This could be a great time to reconnect with supportive friends that you haven’t seen in a while.

Be intentional, you can choose who you want to connect with. Connect with people who are supportive and help your wellbeing.

Try these things to connect with supportive family or friends:

• Video calling
• Having a virtual dinner or coffee date
• Having daily creative challenges.

This is an opportunity to pause or stop drinking alcohol and using other drugs. You’ve been through changes in your life, and this is another opportunity to ground yourself in what’s important to you.

Remember to be gentle with yourself and to keep a healthy lifestyle.

• Make a list of things that are important to you.
• Make a list of things that you are grateful for.
• Identify what your warning signs ('triggers') are while staying at home. Identify your ‘soft limits’ (early warning signs) and your ‘hard limits’ (signs that you need to do something different immediately).
• Identify what you can do to de-stress or relax while staying at home without using alcohol or other drugs.
• Think about goals that you have achieved and set new goals.
• Think about who is important in your life and let them know they are important to you.
• Identify activities that interest you.
• Think about what values are important to you and how you live those values.
• Do an act of kindness for someone else, while staying maintaining social distancing.
• Watch YouTube videos to learn a new skill.
• Notice and replace unhelpful thoughts.
• Practice allowing yourself to feel ok with being bored.
• Find ways to be creative.
• Get fresh air.