Originally Posted by
Mac4711 
Scott,
Fair enough, but you are not the intended recipient of this message -
the fact that you've been sober for a long time shows that you've already 'got it' aka survivor bias.
I really want to drive home the message for us noobs, the sub one years: To many of us this must be surprising news and that's why we have 80% relapse rates.
So that's why I'm hoping people will learn from that, because it gives them a better understanding of what a successful recovery process entails!
I don't think anyone is disputing the premise that helping others in recovery also aids us in our own recovery, regardless of the method. And in general helping other people is a positive thing for all involved parties, regardless of whether we are in recovery or not.
The actual statistics of any survey should always be taken with a grain of salt. This particular survey has been posted here on SR many times and as some have suggested it may have a bias - most surveys do.
Regarding the "audience" - remember that all posts here on SR are available to and read by people of all walks of life. I think the underlying message here of helping others can certainly apply to anyone, regardless if they have 5 days, 5 weeks or 5 years of sobriety.