In short, yes!
If you are receiving outpatient treatment for addiction, sober living is the best place for you to live. In a sober living home, there are no drugs and no temptation to relapse. It is a safe environment where you can focus on your recovery. Along with a community of people who share your journey, sober living provides an ideal situation for someone in outpatient care.
Fundamentally, drug and alcohol addiction treatment is intended to help people return to normal daily life without addictive substances. Sober living helps people negotiate this somewhat difficult transition period.
Here’s how:
Sober Living Helps Prevent Relapse
One of the main benefits of sober living is that it helps prevent relapse. It’s a safe, drug-free environment where people can focus on their recovery. This setting is crucial for someone in outpatient care who may be susceptible to relapse.
In sober living, there are no drugs or alcohol present, so you’re less likely to give in to temptation.
Sober Living Provides a Continuum of Care
When you’re discharged from an inpatient addiction treatment program, most continue into the outpatient forms of drug and alcohol addiction treatment:
- Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP): During this state in recovery, a person lives at home (or a sober living house) while they attend outpatient care at an addiction center. Most people spend all day at the center receiving therapy and counseling.
- Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): This is a phase where a person begins to negotiate their newly sober lives. They still attend programming at the addiction center … but it’s usually for fewer hours than a PHP. This allows people to begin resuming daily life, such as school and work, as they receive addiction treatment.
- Outpatient Program (OP): Recovery is less a destination and more a state which must be maintained carefully. This stage allows someone ready to enter the regular world, but still attend counseling and therapy as they see fit.
Sober living can provide a continuum of care that helps keep you on track.
Living With Sober People Helps You Stay On Track In Recovery
In sober living, you live with people who are also in recovery. This provides a supportive environment where you can share your experiences and struggles with others who understand what you’re going through.
Living with sober people helps keep you accountable and on track in your recovery. It’s a great way to build healthy relationships and create a support network for yourself, too.
Sober Living Separates You from Outside Distractions
Returning home isn’t always an option for people in recovery. If substance use is part of their home situation (like they’re living with people who engage in drug use), there’s a serious risk of relapse if they return to their former living situation.
Relapse triggers aren’t always human, too. For some, going home means seeing old hangouts, such as favorite bars or places where drug use took place. The memories these places hold can act as relapse triggers, too.
In a sober home, you’re separated from outside distractions that could lead to relapse, especially if you moved a long way from where you used to live.
Removing yourself from potentially harmful situations is an important step in outpatient care.
Sober Living Allows You to Take Things at Your Own Pace
In sober living, you’re able to take things at your own pace. If you need more time to work on certain aspects of your recovery, sober living allows for that flexibility.
If you’re feeling good and want to move on to the next step, sober living can help facilitate that as well. Sober living is about taking things one day at a time and moving forward at your own pace.
Sober Living Is More Affordable
Most sober living houses are more affordable than a solo apartment, making them a great option for people in outpatient care. This is another way sober living helps keep you on track in your recovery. Although sober living, in general, isn’t free, the rents tend to be affordable for most. Living costs are shared with other residents, some utilities (like Wi-Fi) can even be free, and you’re able to keep a roof over your head even with a reduced paycheck as you reenter the workforce (or attend school).
Sober Living Is an Important Part Of Outpatient Care
Sober living provides a safe, supportive environment where you can continue your addiction recovery journey. It’s the perfect accompaniment to outpatient care.
However, finding a sober living house can be a challenge. There are many different kinds of sober living houses out there. Some are aimed at particular audiences, such as houses for only one gender, or houses aimed at athletes or working professionals. There are also sober living houses that cater to people in various stages of their recovery.
Do your research and find a sober living house that’s right for you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and make sure you look at all the paperwork carefully, so you understand what’s expected of you. Remember, sober living homes have rules, and you don’t want to get kicked out.
Speaking of research, SoberLivingNearYou.com is the best place on the web to research sober living homes. We’ve assembled thousands of sober home listings for every lifestyle, personality, and need. With us, you’ll be able to find a sober living solution easily and quickly.
Your search starts today. Search with SoberLivingNearYou.com today!
