How Local Sober Living Can Help in Your Recovery
The road to recovery for any addiction can be long and difficult, even after the treatment program has ended. Dropped back into their previous environments, many recovering addicts find that staying sober is more difficult than overcoming their previous battle with withdrawal symptoms. Thankfully, another step is available that can help ease the transition from treatment programs to an addiction free life: sober living. According to the National Institute of Health, destructive living environments can detail recovery for even the most highly motivated individuals. Sober living provides a clean living environment where individuals can work on integrating normal daily activities like work and school, while avoiding hazardous atmospheres.
House Rules
For those struggling to recapture a normal lifestyle, sober living house rules can be extremely beneficial. Many sober living facilities have rules established not only for the safety of those living there but also to help their residents stay sober. Some basic rules that many sober living homes include: no drug use, no stealing, no destruction of property, no confrontations with other residents, mandatory counseling or therapy meetings, submission for drug screening, clean rooms, and curfews.
By providing these rules and ensuring that residents obey the rules, sober living facilities provide a safe environment where recovering addicts can focus on getting their life fully back on track.
Keeping it Local
Many people fall under the misconception that they have to go out of state or far away in order to utilize a sober living facility. Because addiction to drugs and other substances has become such a common and widespread issue, there are many sober living facilities located all across the country. Local sober living facilities can provide a huge benefit for those who choose to remain close to their homes as they are close enough to a person’s home to allow them to incorporate elements of their regular lives in a controlled manner while maintaining a constant support system within the sober living home.
Local sober living facilities also help with recovery in that they are close to the places where patients already work or are looking to find jobs. Many recovering addicts struggle with joblessness and the proximity of the sober living facility can be pivotal in the person’s ability to land a job before they have completed their entire recovery process.
For some, their addictions have already wiped out everything they had, including their jobs and homes. Local sober living facilities provide a place for the person to stay and can also provide assistance to the patient in finding a new home or apartment, away from temptation and bad areas.
Support Systems
While many patients tend to build new support networks throughout their road to recovery, many people want to mend bridges with those closest to them: their family and friends. By selecting a local sober living facility, patients can stay close to home. This can be beneficial to friends and family who are looking to reconnect with the recovering addict and want to be there to support them through the rest of the recovery process as well as for the patient who wants to repair relationships damaged by their addictions.