Show HN: Quit drinking with the support of a small group (cohort-based quitting)

Love this. Well done and good luck.

@version_five - Thanks for the heads up, fixed that bug!

Hey HN - I built Stopping (https://stopping.app/) to help people quit drinking with the support of a small group (your "cohort"). It's free[5] to participate and there's no app to download. All communication is anonymous and done through SMS[1]. I finally stopped drinking after many failed attempts and having the support of a group that was going thru it with me was critical.

Problem:

Giving up alcohol, for some people, is really hard.

In the US, 15M people have Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Only 7% get any form of treatment and most programs are ineffective (the success rate of AA is between 5 and 10 percent[6]).

Abusing alcohol has wide ranging effects:

- Financial costs (spending money on drinking)

- Strains on relationships

- Health risks (increased risk of liver disease, cancer, etc.)

- Reduced confidence and effectiveness

In summary, alcohol can ruin your life and kill you. Many people don't think of alcohol in these blunt terms because of how common and even celebrated alcohol is, but it's a truly shitty substance.

Solution:

1. Quit with a cohort - Stopping places you in a group of people quitting with you at the same time. You can safely and anonymously share struggles and triumphs. It might not sound like a lot, but just telling someone else you have an urge to drink and talking about it can make all the difference.

2. Guidance - Get concrete actions and routines you can implement to improve your odds of quitting and make it easier on you.

For example, many people don't realize how many calories they consume from alcohol and are extra hungry after quitting. Knowing this is coming and completely normal helps make the process smoother. You should indulge in some treats you might not normally have (e.g. ice cream) if it helps you stop drinking. There are hundreds of little things like this that can make a difference in stopping.

Another step is prescribing medication. Less than 4 percent of people with AUD are prescribed a medication[7] but there's solid evidence[8] these drugs can help.

3. SMS based - No new app to check. It's easy to access and anonymous.

Drop me a note at mike@stopping.app if you have any feedback or questions you don't want to share here.

[0] https://stopping.app/

[1] Stopping receives all the messages and relays them (using Twilio) based on the group you belong to.

[2] National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...

[3] 14.5 million people ages 12 and older had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), ~5% of the US population. Men are almost twice as likely to have AUD.

[4] 7.2 percent of people ages 12 and older who had AUD in the past year received any treatment in the past year

[5] Right now my focus is on finding ways to solve this problem. I might make this a non-profit and accept donations if enough people want it. I had an exit recently and can support the project financially for the foreseeable future.

[6] https://www.npr.org/2014/03/23/291405829/with-sobering-scien...

[7] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...

[8] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/27/5168903...*