Hollywood Lies: What Living in a Sober House is Really Like

According to the National Library of Medicine, sober living facilities are a good place to recover when you need time between a rehab facility and a home. It is a safe and usually comfortable place to make your way back to society. Unfortunately, Hollywood has a distorted view of sober houses just as it does with many other aspects of addiction and addiction treatment.

How Does Hollywood Distort the General View of Sober Houses?

Hollywood is notorious for using sober housing as a dumping ground for criminals, murders, and other such things. Many movies and TV shows, depict a sober house as a dark and institutional place. This is not necessarily true of the majority of sober houses.

A light and friendly environment is beneficial to recovery. This is why many sober houses strive for a home like environment rather than an institutional one. Most sober houses are clean, light, and well decorated.

Sober living programs generally strive to provide a home-like environment for the residents.

Hollywood also shows an opposite view of sober houses. They show palatial mansions with happy residents doing drugs and sliding in and out of the house. They show places without rules, meetings, life skills training, and other recovery techniques.

The majority of sober houses have a schedule of waking, sleeping, and recovery therapy. There are rules and regulations as well as chores and other things that need to be done in sober housing. If you are caught sneaking out or using drugs or alcohol your stay at the sober house usually ends immediately.

Hollywood gives a very limited view of what living in a sober house is really like. They distort the healing environment and the close knit support that you get when you are in one.

What is Sober Living Typically Like?

Sober living or living in a sober house is much like living in a normal house with roommates who also wish to remain sober. Yes, there are people who mess up in sober living but normally they are put back on the path to recovery or they are removed from the facility.

All sober houses have rules that you have to follow to remain there. The rules are usually common sense but the residents have to follow them. They risk being expelled from the sober house if they don’t. To many in a sober house this would mean homelessness and a return to addiction.

Sober residents are required to cook, clean, and take care of the residents. This is something that they often take pride in.

Most sober houses are private facilities with individual bedrooms, activities for people to socialize, and many other things. Although some sober living facilities are also transition houses for people coming from prison, many are not. You can find the sober house that fits your preference.

There are many types of sober houses and many sober living situations, too many to be categorized by those in Hollywood. It is important to find the sober house the fits you and your situation. We can help, call us at 800-953-3913 (Who Answers?).

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