Recovery from drug addiction doesn’t happen overnight or in one step. As people move from addiction towards sober living, they need different kinds of support along the way.
Whether they’re addicted to alcohol, opiates, or benzodiazepines, people often start their addiction treatment with a rehab program. During rehab, they receive help with managing withdrawal symptoms, which may be severe. They also benefit from other therapeutic interventions, such as group therapy and one-on-one counseling.
But what happens after rehab? What kind of support is available to help you maintain a sober life and sustain a healthier lifestyle? One helpful possibility is a residence for sober living.
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What Is a Sober Home?
On the path from rehab to a fully independent life, a residence for sober living serves as a stepping stone. It’s a structured living environment that helps you build day-to-day habits that sustain sobriety. At the sober home, you can be working, studying, doing chores, having fun, and developing healthy ways to deal with stress and avoid relapse.
The residence is a drug-free environment, and there may be other rules in place, such as a nightly curfew. These rules support you as you develop your ability to completely reintegrate with the world later on.
As for the living environment itself, our sober homes are peaceful, safe, and beautifully maintained. You have a comfortable bed and access to a clean bathroom, kitchen, and dining area. You can relax in the living room or outdoors in the Florida sunshine. The fact that you’re living in a well-appointed house helps lift your mood and gives you the security you need for recovery.
Other residents share the house with you. As you figure out how to maintain sobriety, you enjoy opportunities for mutual support, and you don’t have to struggle with social isolation. You can also participate in activities with your housemates, such as visiting the beach or even just buying groceries together.
During this time, you also work with recovery specialists. They help you make the most of your residency and give you guidance on building a steady and sober way of life. Their work doesn’t focus only on addiction. They help you with your overall psychological health and lifestyle, including relationship skills and job training.
What Are the Benefits of a Sober Home?
Reducing the Chances of Relapse
Although rehab gives you the initial treatment for overcoming addiction, you may still need additional support to avoid a relapse. Going directly from rehab to the wider world can expose you to various triggers. You may find yourself in locations and among people that are associated with your addiction.
On top of that, the stress of a fully independent life may be too much to cope with all at once. Especially if you lack a support network, a steady job, or reliably good habits, you may find yourself turning to drugs again to deal with the stress.
Staying in residence for sober living helps you avoid these triggers. It also eases excessive stress. You’re no longer in rehab, but you’re still receiving structure and support. You can work on rebuilding your life without exposure to people, places, and things that may undermine you.
BOYNTON BEACH RESIDENCE
Comfort and safety are the key principles of our certified recovery residences. With proper guidance and support, our clients are able to avoid relapses in the crucial transitional period between treatment and reintegration into the real world.
DELRAY BEACH RESIDENCE
Our Delray Beach certified recovery residences are close to twelve-step meetings and sober activities. Minutes from the beach, this tranquil environment is the perfect place to get better and start putting together the broken pieces of your life.
Building New Routines and Habits
In rehab, you start learning about the importance of adopting a drug-free lifestyle. Your new life needs to include routines and habits that keep you healthy, give you meaning and purpose, and help you avoid drugs.
Living in a sober home is an excellent way to build up and practice these new routines. Even though you aren’t yet living with full independence, you’re still participating in real-life activities and living in an actual home. With the support of your specialist team and your housemates, you can figure out how to develop a way of life that works for you, including:
- Adopting routines for different parts of the day, such as morning and bedtime.
- Improving habits for exercise, eating, and sleeping.
- Strengthening time management and showing up punctually to appointments, job interviews, work, classes, and social events.
- Learning more about important life skills, such as managing money responsibly.
- Finding drug-free ways to have fun and socialize with people. Sports, hobbies, and movie nights are all possibilities.
- Seeking ways to enrich your life and deal with boredom in a healthy way. Maybe you’re interested in art, writing, woodworking, computers, or cars.
- Exploring meaning and purpose in life. Journaling, spiritual activities, and religious services are among your options.
- Figuring out strategies for maintaining sobriety. Which places or people should you try to avoid out in the world? Which emotions or patterns of thought tend to trigger a desire for drug use?
- Cultivating relationships. During your time in a sober home, you can figure out which friends and family members to reach out to, and you can build a support network that includes the specialists you’re working with at the home.
- Getting necessary therapy and medical help. You may be attending a support group for addicts and one-on-one meetings with a therapist to work on other psychological issues, such as anxiety and depression. You may also need to make appointments with doctors for ongoing medical issues.
As you adopt these new habits and practice them, they supplant your older and more destructive behaviors. Living in a sober home is a holistic approach to developing a drug-free life.
Enjoying Consistent Support
Facing life outside of rehab is daunting, and there are many decisions to make. You may be facing difficulties with your relationships, your health, your work, and other areas of life that you care about. It can all seem overwhelming.
Fortunately, a sober home makes these difficulties more manageable. You can share your fears and be heard with compassion. You can turn to people for advice. Along with the specialists that help you, you benefit from your housemates. For instance, housemates that have been maintaining sobriety for a longer time than you can share their wisdom about what works for them.
What Are Key Signs of a High-Quality Home for Sober Living?
You Feel Safe
Your sober home should be a welcoming place. It should make you feel secure and supported. Even as you work at rebuilding your life, you should enjoy opportunities for healthy relaxation and fun. It’s an environment that facilitates healing and gives you hope that you can thrive.
You Experience the Right Balance Between Independence and Structure
A sober home should be able to strike a balance in what it offers residents. Compared to various rehab programs, a sober home allows you greater freedom in your daily activities. At the same time, you continue to receive guidance and structure. There are house rules to follow, and you may be expected to participate in certain forms of therapy or take lessons for different life skills.
You Get Treated as an Individual
Residents of a sober home share some commonalities, especially in their goal of sobriety; but people also have individual strengths, challenges, and requirements. In a high-quality home, you receive guidance and support that’s tailored to you. The recovery specialists give you personal attention and treat you as a complex human being. They help you rebuild your life in the way that’s best for you.
You Benefit From Professional Support
The recovery specialists who work with you should be experienced, compassionate, and inspirational. They should encourage every healthy habit and help you make good decisions about your life. They should also be available to facilitate a harmonious and safe environment in the sober home.
When you choose a sober home, be sure that you’re in a reputable place run by people who have integrity and a genuine dedication to helping you. If you’d like to find out more about our services, including our residences for sober living, don’t hesitate to contact us.
File a Grievance
If you feel you have been treated unfairly or unethically at one of our recovery residences, please file a grievance with FARR using the following link: https://www.farronline.info/grievance