What if I Don’t Like My Sober Living House Mate?

Sober living houses are alcohol and drug free-living environments for recovering addicts. It is a program or structured environment, which serves as a bridge between the addicts release from an inpatient or residential treatment, center the transition to going home. In this environment, it is made very clear upon admission that there are rules that need to be followed in order to remain living in this setting. So what happens if I don’t like my sober living house mate? Every effort will be made to make the recovering addict as comfortable and content as possible. Sober living houses are a great resource in assisting people with their recovery. Each resident is taught to respect each other, his or her property and care of the home itself.

Sober living does have rules and challenges but it can greatly help with the post-rehab transition.

It is so important in the progression of the recovery that the recovering addict find a living environment that supports their them, which can be a major challenge for many addicts who attend outpatient treatment. Sober living houses are an excellent example of an underutilized modality that could help provide clean and sober living environments to individuals completing residential treatment, engaging in outpatient programs, leaving incarceration, or seeking alternatives to formal treatment. If you are having difficulty adjusting to your housemate it is best to speak to the manager of the facility and they can assist you with the issues at hand.

According to the U. S. National Library of Medicine, the Clean and Sober Transitional Living model developed in 1986 sets the standard for sober house rules in men’s homes. Based on the Clean and Sober Transitional Living model, sober house rules include but are not limited to the following:

• A client must regularly attend all 12-Step support group meetings
• A client must maintain weekly 12-Step support meetings held at the home
• Alcohol and drug use is strictly prohibited
• A client must find a sponsor, preferably as soon as possible
• A client must maintain accountability for their whereabouts if they go off the premises
• A client must sleep at the home for a minimum number of nights per week

While sober living homes offer no formalized program of treatment in the area of counseling and therapy services, sober house rules incorporate the 12-Step support group approach as a baseline therapy approach for how residents must conduct themselves during their stay. Recovery from addiction is an extremely difficult road. The work is hard and constant however the end result of sobriety will be well worth it. Having made decision to go through the work of detoxing in an inpatient environment, only to relapse soon after completing the program is disheartening. For this reason, the sober living house has proven to be a key to their success as they continue on the path to recovery.