Sunflower Community

Did you know? Early sobriety can feel like releasing pressure from a teapot 💨 All the stress chemicals and numbed emotions come rushing up at once. Your brain’s “survival mode” and amygdala (the anger and fear center) might even activate. This is normal because your mind and body is rebalancing. What helps (and why): - Slow breathing Calms the amygdala and lowers the fight-or-flight response by activating the vagus nerve. - Light movement (like a walk) Boosts endorphins + dopamine and increases neuroplasticity so your brain can adapt and change. - Journaling or voice notes Gives your brain a safe outlet to release thoughts instead of building more internal pressure. - Venting to friends or Sam Putting feelings into words reduces amygdala activity and helps the emotional circuits feel safe again. Recovery isn’t just about subtraction! It’s the art of addition. Adding tools, routines, and support that give your brain new places for that pressure to go. 🌻

Hey friends with iPhones! Sunflower developer here 🌻 Update the app to make your profile picture here more fun🎉 (and 3+ other cool updates) The team is working hard to make the product better every week. Let us know if you have feedback 🤞 This will be live on Android soon too :)

Sometimes saying YES to recovery means saying NO to the people around us. Refusal skills are learned techniques used to assertively turn down drugs + alcohol in high-risk scenarios. The National Institute of Health outlines an approach called “recognize/avoid/cope” that people in recovery can apply in challenging social situations. RECOGNIZE Social pressure takes two different forms: -Indirect social pressure comes when people are using substances around you, and; -Direct social pressure is when someone actively offers us something to drink, use, or consume. AVOID Often the best strategy is to just avoid challenging social situations altogether. COPE If we are offered drugs or alcohol, we can always say NO. Some tips I have include: -Keeping responses clear + concise -Prepare your statement in advance -Maintain strong body language -Repeat your statement as many times as necessary What do your refusal skills look like? Let me know below!

Recovery topic of the day: Denial Whether it’s out in the open or hiding behind the scenes, denial is often present in active addiction. Here’s my (subjective) definition of denial within the context of addiction: to refuse the acceptance or acknowledge of; absurd or illogical behaviors that allow someone to continue engaging in their habit. People in addiction can develop denial in order to rationalize and “protect” their harmful behaviors. Keep in mind that your definition of denial might be different than mine, and that’s ok! What does denial mean to you?

Happy Thanksgiving friends ❤️ I just want to say I know that the holidays are the WORST for so many of you. I am so fucking proud of each & every one of you guys fighting for your sobriety today. I am thankful I get to spend my days building this app for all of you. It’s the honor of my lifetime. 🌻 I hope you guys like the new gifting functionality we’re releasing for Black Friday too. Remember to take care of each other & spread a little extra love. You never know the battle someone is fighting. /end-novel, I’m gonna go eat some turkey now 🦃 haha

Hi friends!! Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Koby & I started Sunflower. I’ve been clean for over 7 years now but was always really sad how bad all the apps were for addiction. I’m working with a team of insanely talented humans to build what I think the world deserves. I hope you have found this app useful so far. 🐝 We have a long ways to go & are just getting started. Feel free to comment on this post about what you think so far + what you think of our new community feature!

Hey Sunflower family! 🌻 I’m Dr. Keith, a psychiatrist with a background in both internal medicine and mental health. I’ve spent years helping people understand how the brain and body work together—and how healing and change are always possible. I’ll be teaming up with Sam and Garrett here to read your posts, cheer you on, and share insights about how addiction affects the brain… and more importantly, how recovery rewires it. Just like Garrett, I’m a mental health professional but I’m not here to diagnose or give treatment advice. My focus is to help you make sense of what’s happening inside you, so you can feel more empowered, informed, and hopeful on this journey. Can’t wait to connect with all of you and help you learn more about your brain, body, and recovery. 💛

Could I get a sunflower or comment from anyone who can tell me this app helped them and to keep up with it. I just need ambition to do this I just am going on 3 days and struggling

Let’s check innnnnn🥹🙏🏾💯 Where you’re commenting from and how long you’ve been sober ❤️‍🩹🙏🏾💯❤️❤️❤️

Hi everyone, from smoking around 30 joints a day to quitting on the spot. I am now 10 days in and I feel so good about myself. There first 2 days was the hardest. Just remember your better than you think you are so keep that chin up and keep moving forward. Youve got this people ❤️❤️ Please drop me a message, I'm here for a chat or advice if needed. Much love all