Whether it’s alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, porn, sex, gambling, eating co-dependency or a bad temper; if you’ve tried to stop and can’t; if it’s affecting your life in a negative way, then you may have an addiction. You may have spent years in therapy with little to show for it, or tried other methods to no avail. You may be at your wits end or just starting to notice this thing you want to stop, but can’t. Wherever you are in your struggle, know this: there is hope, there is help, and you’re not alone.

The solution came about in 1935 when two desperate drunks reached out to each other instead of reaching for a drink, they called it Alcoholics Anonymous. AA has since freed millions of people from the bonds of addiction in the form of many different “anonymous” programs based on AA. There are now programs for nearly any kind of addiction you can think of, like nicotine anonymous, narcotics anonymous, sexaholics anonymous, gamblers anonymous, overeaters anonymous, co-dependents anonymous and emotions anonymous. The fundamentals of these programs are all the same and come from AA.

The only requirement to join an “anonymous” program is the desire to get well. Nobody will judge you, and the worst stories you can tell about your addiction will likely have the people in the room just nodding in recognition of the shared illness.

There are also “anon” groups for family members of addicts such as al-anon for those with an alcoholic in their lives.

I’m sure you’ve heard people joke about and even ridicule the idea of a 12-step program, but just know that if you’re hurting, if you’re suffering and life’s become difficult or even impossible to manage, you aren’t alone. There is help. All you need to do is show up.★