In the midst of wine memes and virtual happy hours, moms in recovery need a safe space to share about the challenges.
Professional recovery coach Emily Lynn Paulson noticed a disconnect of virtual support groups for moms—she saw groups for women, alcohol-free lifestyles, and 12-Step programs, but no communities for mothers. So she teamed up with fellow sober mom influencers and formed Sober Mom Squad (bit.ly/sobermoms). In just one week, 600 moms have already signed up!
Sober Mom Squad Virtual Meet-Up takes place Wednesdays at 6 p.m. EST. It’s a safe space for moms who are alcohol free (or those who desire to be alcohol free) to laugh, cry, connect, and share tips on how to keep each other sane, sober, and strong. Moms can sign-up here.
Paulson had this to say about her new Sober Mom virtual meetups:
“I offered my book as a freebie for two weeks so people would have something to read, and I thought to myself, “What else can I do?” I’m a Certified Professional Recovery Coach, a SHE RECOVERS Designated Coach, and I’m being certified as a Naked Mind Coach, so I certainly have tactics to help, and as a writer and woman in recovery, I also have a great deal of experience to draw from. So, I posed a question on my Instagram page, a community of mostly women, many moms, many in recovery, “What else do you need? What can I do?”
“There was an overwhelming response for meetings for MOMS. There are numerous meetings for recovery, and women in recovery, but there wasn’t anything out there specifically for alcohol free moms. Being a mom during this pandemic has its challenges for sure, and attempting to keep an alcohol-free lifestyle adds another layer of difficulty that can’t be compared or understood unless you are going through it. In the midst of wine memes and virtual happy hours, we wanted a safe space to share about the challenges. We also wanted a safe place to share about those challenges, without fear of being shamed for, “not being grateful” about the children we are blessed with.
“Four other fellow sober influencers wanted to collaborate, and between the five of us, we have different paths of recovery, different recovery time, and a dozen children from infant to teenager and everything in between. The thing we have in common is that we are all moms who want to stay sober, sane, and strong during this pandemic. So, we picked a day that would work for all of us. We decided, even if it was just the five of us chatting, it would be so worth it!
“I whipped up a signup page, with no real expectations of who or how many would be interested. Within a few days, we had almost 300 women sign up! Our first meeting had about 50 women in attendance. It was a lovely safe space to share our unique struggles, strength, ask questions, and offer helpful tips during this time. Today we have over 600 women signed up! I’m sure we will evolve and offer more meeting times to adjust and accommodate, but it’s very exciting to be able to find a need and fill it so quickly.
“Some people who were leery of in-person meetings are now attending meetings for the first time. Meetings can be tailored to fit your schedule. You don’t need to get childcare to attend.
If you are a mom who is trying to be alcohol free right now, the Sober Mom Squad Virtual Meetup is the right place! Meetings are limited to 100 people, and it is absolutely OK to have little ones around, we just ask that you use headphones to protect little ears from potentially mature shares from others. Signup at bit.ly/sobermoms.”
Here are some additional virtual meetings recommended by Paulson:
- Sober Mom Squad: bit.ly/sobermoms: For moms who desire to be alcohol free.
- SHE RECOVERS: online meetings: sherecovers.co. For anyone who identifies as a woman and is in recovery. We are all recovering from something (alcohol, drugs, trauma, anxiety etc.)
- In the rooms: https://www.intherooms.com/home: A vast array of meetings of all types, all day long.
- 12 step online meetings: https://www.12step.org/social/online-meetings/
- Work It Health: https://www.workithealth.com/blog/online-recovery-meetings/
- We Connect online meetings: https://www.weconnectrecovery.com/free-online-support-meetings
- Mara International: https://www.mara-international.org/
- Recovery Dharma: https://recoverydharma.org/online-meetings
- Laura McKowen online meetings: https://laura-mckowen.mykajabi.com/virtual-sobriety-meetings-with-laura
- SMART RECOVERY: https://www.smartrecovery.org/smart-recovery-toolbox/smart-recovery-online/
- Carly Benson online meetings. https://www.miraclesarebrewing.com/hangover-free-club-offer/
Paulson is a certified professional recovery coach, speaker, and a member of the long-term recovery community, and author on a mission to raise awareness on the dangers of the drinking mom culture. She has been featured on outlets including The Doctors, Today Online, Huff Post and Parade, sharing how her Instagram portrayed her as a perfect mother of five children and multi-million-dollar network marketer, but her photos didn’t reveal her slurred voice. Paulson authored Highlight Real: Finding Honesty & Recovery Behind the Filtered Life (Light Hustle Publishing).
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