YouTube is a global video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States. The service was created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005. In November 2006, it was bought by Google for US$1.65 billion. 300 hrs of video are uploaded to Youtube every minute. 1,3000,000,000 people use Youtube and almost 5 billion videos are watched every day.
6 reasons why YouTube can be a great resource for people in recovery:
- Making use of recovery resources. In the past, people got their information from books, but it’s far easier and faster to absorb information from video.
- The amount of material related to addiction recovery has skyrocketed because of YouTube. A person could watch videos related to addiction recovery 24 hours a day and never run out of things to watch.
- Youtube ensures that information is available on all approaches to recovery from addiction. The individual has more choice and is therefore more likely to find something to suit them.
- It provides an avenue for people in recovery to share their views about addiction and recovery. It’s easy to make videos and upload them to this site.
- It allows people in recovery to engage in fellowship with other people no matter where their location.
- In the past those who lived in isolated communities had few choices when it came to addiction recovery. The arrival of resources like YouTube has changed that.
Recommended YouTube Channels for People in Recovery:
AA100011
AA100011 is an unofficial channel for Alcoholics Anonymous. This channels content has not been approved or endorsed by the AA World Service Committee. But, it is a still a great channel for those who follow the 12 steps. There are over 135 videos dealing with different aspects of the 12 Step program. This channel offers an audio reading of the entire Big Book and currently has 11,498 subscribers and 1,581,719 video views.
Foundations Recovery Network
Foundations Recovery Network not only discusses recovery from alcohol or drug addiction but also has videos about dealing with mental health issues. This can be of particularly interest to those who are dealing with a dual diagnosis – those who have a mental illness alongside their addiction. This channel has been around since 2010 and they have over 100 videos uploaded. They are currently adding videos on a fairly regular basis and have 274,667 views and 870 subscribers.
SAMHSA’s Official YouTube Channel
SAMHSA’s Official YouTube Channel of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are freely available for public use without permission from, or charge by, the United Stated Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).They currently have over 170 videos to choose from and they have 4,918 subscribers and 1,176,055 video views.
Sober Nation
Sober Nation is the worlds leading online recovery community. They strive to help the struggling addict and alcoholic, as well as help the families by providing support and resources. They show the world that a life without drugs or alcohol is an amazing life and one worth living. For those of us who have recovered, they understand what it is like to be on the other side of addiction. Sober Nation is puting recovery on the map. They are currently adding videos and have 16,298 views and 149 subscribers.
Sobriety Television
Sobriety Television currently has over 200 videos focusing on addiction recovery. There are new videos added regularly and most of these are well made with high production values. There are many interviews with addiction experts and these are well worth checking out if people want a deeper understanding of the current theories on addiction. Sobriety Television is very popular and at the date of this post has 8,532 subscribers and 3,226,431 views of their videos.
In order to get the most from YouTube it is advisable that people:
Subscribe to the channels that provide the type of information that you are interested in. This way you’ll be notified when new videos become available. Remember, it’s important that you are discerning about which videos you watch. It is possible for anyone to put material on YouTube and not all of it is trustworthy or beneficial. You should never allow advice from a YouTube video replace that of a professional. This is particularly important when it comes to physical and mental health. These videos should not be used as a means to diagnose or treat illness.
Leave a Reply