Completing treatment is a significant step. However, leaving treatment can also leave you feeling scared for the future and returning to “normal” life without the support of treatment staff and peers. For this reason, many people graduating from a treatment program choose to live in sober living homes. Sober living is a great option for everyone and can have many benefits for you and your recovery.
What Is a Sober Living Home?
Sober living homes are true to their name; houses where sober people live. However, living in a sober living home isn’t as simple as just staying sober. Most homes have rules and regulations in place intended to keep everyone safe. Most sober living homes don’t allow drugs and alcohol and perform random drug testing to ensure these guidelines are enforced. Most sober living homes will also have a curfew in place, chore plans, and requirements for residents to have a job or attend outpatient treatment. The structure of a sober living home is intended to provide you with a level of support some people may not have available to them right after treatment.
6 Benefits of Sober Living Homes
There are many benefits to choosing a sober living home after completing treatment, including:
#1. Guidance and Support
In a sober living home, you have the opportunity to be surrounded by other sober people who support your recovery and want to help hold you accountable. Many sober livings will also have on-site house managers who live with you in the home. House managers are typically people who have been sober longer than other residents. They are also available to help you with any potential issues that come up in recovery, such as cravings, intense emotions, or trouble finding a job.
The other residents in a sober living home are also there to help you. The people who live with you in a sober living home know what it is like to experience addiction, complete treatment, and navigate staying sober after treatment. Many residents in a sober living home are available to talk about things and may offer you advice about staying sober you’ve never heard before.
#2. A Chance for Meaningful Relationships
One of the most significant benefits of sober living is creating bonds with other sober people. You will meet and live with other people in recovery and share common ground. These people understand what it is like to use drugs, crave drugs, feel distant or depressed, and more. Most of the time, they also have a desire and drive to change and become the best possible people they can be, without drugs or alcohol. Creating relationships with the other residents in a sober living home can decrease any loneliness felt after treatment and help you build a support system.
#3. Easier Transition to “Normal” Life
Sober living homes provide you with a transition period between treatment and everyday life. The accountability and companionship associated with sober living homes can help ease you back into the “real world” – work, school, relationships, and more. These homes provide a safe and sober place to live and give you a chance to adjust to independent living without the round-the-clock care provided in a treatment setting. Sober living homes allow you to get a sense of what a real sober life is beyond the walls of a treatment facility.
#4. Lowering the Risk of Relapse
With a safe and supportive place to heal, you are given a place to live and focus on yourself, without temptation from old using friends, old hang-out spots, and other environmental relapse triggers. Sober homes can help eliminate relapse triggers that may cause cravings or temptation. With the strict rules of a sober living home, no alcohol, no drugs, and no addictive prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs are allowed in the house.
#5. A Chance for Independence
Sober living homes provide you with the opportunity for independence after completing treatment. You will have the autonomy to go out and find a job on your own. You will have the independence to make new friends and establish meaningful friendships that support your recovery. You will also have the freedom to shop for your meals, cook for yourself, and fill life with the things that bring you joy. While you enjoy this newfound freedom and independence, you also get to live in a safe and sober environment.
#6. Learn Life Skills
Many other obligations are put on the back burner when a person becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol. These obligations might include eating healthy, exercising regularly, keeping a clean home, and maintaining good personal hygiene. However, sober living can help you learn to live a sober and structured life.
Sober living homes allow you to re-build essential life skills and re-establish personal responsibility. Living with other people can also help you learn and apply interpersonal skills, financial skills, and other practical skills needed to take care of yourself independently without the use of substances.
Many people fear re-entering the “real word’ after completing treatment. This fear may stem from an unstable home environment, a lack of knowledge on staying sober, and more. For these reasons, many people choose to enter a sober living home after completing treatment. Sober living homes provide a safe and structured environment for you to live with other sober people who will help hold you accountable and learn to transition into everyday living from treatment. At Dream Recovery, we offer those who have completed treatment with us or another facility the option of five different sober living homes with 52 beds in total. Located throughout Orange County, California, we can help you learn to live life while maintaining sobriety. We also provide outpatient treatment for those who have completed residential treatment, which you can attend while living in our sober living homes. For more information on the services Dream Recovery offers to help those in recovery, call (949) 732-1960.