New Habits, New Hope
New Habits, New Hope was built by me, Yasmín Goetz, out of what actually got me sober. Maybe you've tried AA, maybe it helped, maybe it wasn't the whole answer, and therapy costs more than you have to spare. That was me too. I grew up in Puerto Rico, made my way through Miami and Houston, and now I'm in Orlando. I built a consulting career I was proud of, and lost most of it after the house I was living in caught fire in January 2017. I had been fighting alcohol my whole life by then, quitting and starting again since long before that house ever burned. The fire damaged my lungs, and instead of turning to painkillers for the pain, I turned back to alcohol and told myself that made me the smart one. It didn't. I chose to spend thirteen months away from everything, and it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me, because that's where I got sober with the help of other women, AA, my faith, and a small habit that fit in my pocket.
Two years now, and not because I could afford to keep paying for therapy. I want to show you the small habit that was part of what got me here.
Two Years Later,What Actually Happened
years sober, counted one day at a time, without a therapy budget and without doing any of it on my own
months away from everything, by choice, not a sentence, and the best experience of my life, because that is where I finally got sober
habit: a piece of candy instead of a drink, the small swap that started everything, small enough to fit in my pocket and go everywhere I went
Maybe this is familiar.
You don't think of yourself as having a problem. You just reach for it more than you want to, more often than you planned to, and you've been meaning to cut back since approximately forever.
You've tried before. Mondays especially. It didn't stick, and that was never because you didn't want it enough.
Therapy sounds like a lot, and meetings sound like more. You don't want to make it into a whole thing. You just want something simple that actually works.
You don't want this to become your whole identity. You just want to feel better, without sitting in a circle introducing yourself as the thing you're trying to quit.
if that's where you are… you're in exactly the right place.
What I figured out in jail.
Willpower Wasn't the Difference
The women who made it through the worst nights in there, in the place we all called camp, weren't the strongest or most disciplined. They were the ones who had something to reach for.
A Mint. A Butterscotch. Something Small.
Something sweet and immediate gave the brain somewhere else to go while the craving passed.
It Didn't Have to Work Every Time
I tried it myself, not because I believed in it, but because it was all I had. It got me through that night, and then the next.
Notice the urge
Don't fight it or pretend it isn't there. Just notice it's showing up, and that it will pass.
Reach for something small
A mint. A few pages. A short walk. Something that's already within arm's reach.
Let it pass
Most cravings only last a few minutes. Give yourself those minutes, then move on.
One Small Trade at a Time
That's the whole method. Just replacing the thing you're reaching for with something a little better, one small trade at a time.
No Willpower Required —
Just One Small Trade
… Leave the guilt at the door.
You won't need it here.
How I Was
Taught To Quit:
- Willpower
- Shame
- Rigid rules
- Quit completely, all at once
How I
Actually Quit:
- A small replacement
- Grace
- Whatever got me through
- One trade at a time
Not just sobriety.
My whole life came with it.
- Mornings without the dread of replaying last night.
- My son trusts me more than he did. Not fixed. Getting there.
- Sleeping through the night. Actually tasting food again.
- Room in my head for something other than managing the next drink.
This is what one small trade a day can turn into.
This is just the beginning.
The candy, the mints, the small trades, that's what got me through the worst nights alone. What I'm building next is somewhere to do it together. A free weekly space built on faith, no diagnosis, no admitting you're powerless, just people trading one habit for a better one, out loud, with company.
Get notified when it launches
Questions people ask
Does this work alongside AA, or instead of it?
AA was part of how I got sober, and my faith and my church were too. I'm not here to talk anyone out of any of that. What I built is something extra, one small, practical habit that helped me in the moments none of those things could reach fast enough, the two-minute craving that hits at a bad time. Use it alongside AA, alongside whatever program fits what you're quitting, alongside therapy, alongside your faith, or on its own. It's not a replacement for anything. It's just one more tool.
What is an affordable alternative to addiction therapy?
I'm not going to tell you therapy doesn't help, because it does, and if you can afford it and it's working for you, please keep going. I couldn't keep affording it. Fifty dollars an hour doesn't sound like much until it's every week, on top of everything else falling apart. What I found instead were things that cost almost nothing, a bag of candy, a book, a walk around the block, and they got me through the moments where I needed something right then, not an appointment three days from now.
Can candy help with alcohol withdrawal?
I'm not a doctor and I'm not going to pretend I understand the chemistry of it. What I can tell you is what I watched happen, in myself and in the women around me, some getting through alcohol withdrawal, some getting through meth or fentanyl withdrawal. The ones who reached for something sweet seemed to get through the worst of it a little easier, regardless of what they were coming off of. Candy helped with cravings, both kinds. It isn't a treatment for withdrawal, medical or otherwise, and nothing on this site is medical advice. Alcohol and drug withdrawal can both be medically serious, and for some people it's dangerous. If you use heavily, talk to a doctor before you stop, and if anyone has a seizure, severe confusion, or hallucinations, call 911.
What is the New Habits method for sobriety?
It isn't really a method in the way that word usually gets used. There's no workbook, no steps to check off. It's just the thing I figured out in jail: when a craving shows up, you give yourself something else to reach for instead of fighting it head-on. A mint instead of a drink, a few pages of a book instead of a cigarette, a game on your phone instead of whatever your hands are used to reaching for, small trades, over and over, until the new habit is the one that's easier to reach for.
Who is Yasmin Goetz?
I'm the founder of New Habits, New Hope, a Christian-inspired ministry for people trying to quit something, drinking, smoking, whatever has its hooks in you. I grew up in Puerto Rico, built an independent consulting career from nothing, and later a real estate business with my cousin, and I thought I had it together. I had also been fighting alcohol since long before any of that, growing up around it and quitting and starting again most of my adult life. Then the house I was living in caught fire in January 2017, and one thing led to another until I was spending thirteen months away from my life. I'm two years sober now, I'm a single mom, and I started New Habits with my son's encouragement, because I wanted to hand people the same small, unglamorous thing that got me through, something I actually learned from other women, not something I invented on my own.
What products help with sobriety and addiction recovery?
Mostly candy, if I'm honest. Peppermints, jawbreakers, gummies, the old-fashioned hard candy that takes forever to finish. Nothing complicated. I keep it in the shop because it's what I actually reach for, not because it's some official recovery product with a label that says it's supposed to help.
Is New Habits a nonprofit?
Not yet. Right now this is Phase One, me and a small shop, spreading the word and building this community online. Short-term, the goal is to become a registered nonprofit. That would mean opening real, in-person spaces for daily meetings and support, working toward affordable housing for people rebuilding their lives, and offering real help with work and school, business start-ups, the practical stuff that actually gets someone back on their feet, not just the emotional support. That's the plan. It's just not built yet.