As a society we love to hail life’s victories. There are celebrations for job promotions, baby showers, bumper stickers that acknowledge a child’s progress and behavior at school, and trophies for winning sporting events. Special events like these promote support for one another which is a healthy. Not only does it pump up the person or persons being celebrated, but it also gets everyone else around them pumped up to be a part of the festivities.
Addiction recovery is a process that takes personal effort to get successful results. Being willing is what it takes in the beginning of recovery and can be considered a great achievement. The work that must take place in recovery is really something incredible to celebrate when all is said and done. 12-Step programs are known to be supportive of the progress that addicts make as well as celebrate the lengths of sobriety that they achieve.
When you attend a 12-Step meeting, you may see a common custom that takes place amongst its members when they take chips or tokens for their sobriety milestones. Observing the anniversary of the day of an addict’s last drink, is a momentous occasion because it takes courage and a desire to stop drinking.
The history of the sobriety coin goes back to the 1930’s when a nun, Sister Ignatia of Akron, would pass out a Sacred Heart Medallion to alcoholics trying to inspire them to stop drinking alcohol. She would give an addict the medallion asking only for them to return it before they took another drink. Once Alcoholic Anonymous was formed, an AA group in Indianapolis was thought to have started the ritual of giving tokens in 1942. Over the next 30 years, the evolution of the sobriety chip would eventually turn into the most common of them all, a bronze coin with a raised center.
From time to time there may be controversy on why these medallions are given to people that “should have just stayed sober all long”. If a celebration is what helps continue the cessation of an addiction, then bring on the chips. Sometimes this may be the missing link to becoming attached to the day that shows the progress that an addict has made. Generating gratitude for a certain day also makes addicts thank the ones around them that have lifted them up every step of the way.
Today in sobriety, there are all types of mementos that are given to celebrate a person’s recovery besides a sobriety chip. Rocks, necklaces, keychains, bracelets, or anything that reminds the addict of their daily goal – to stay sober one day at a time.
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, Serenity Oaks Wellness Center has a 5-week program that can be designed especially for you or a loved one. Our partial-care program will adorn your soul by disarming your fears and reconnect you to the life you were meant to live. Call our staff today: 844-720-6847
