Why should you consider a sober home?
If you’re in addiction treatment, this question is all but guaranteed to come up. It’s tempting to wonder why sober homes are even necessary, especially if you already have a place to live.
Consider this: what’s your home situation really like? Are you up to living by yourself after the structure of rehab? If you live with family or friends, are you sure they understand your new life and the choices you intend to make for the rest of your life?
If that sounds familiar, you’re a perfect candidate for sober living. A sober home is so much more than a roof over your head. They’re an experience specifically crafted for those early in recovery, giving them a secure, safe place to live as they continue to recover.
Sober living has a huge variety of benefits, but there are five of the biggest ones:
A Taste of Independence: Living in a sober home is a way to put real choices back in your hands. You get the freedom to find a job of your own, cook your own meals, do healthy things which bring real joy back in your life, and even make new friends.
Better yet, you can do all of these things with the safety net of a sober living home. Your friends at the home understand your goals because they’re on the same path themselves. There’s much less of a risk of developing relationships with people still caught up in substance abuse when you’re living in a social environment. And if you have any questions, you have both your roommates and the house manager to talk to.
About That Safety Net: A sober home places you in an environment with other people who share your recovery goals. They’re all working on the same things you are, with an eye to developing an independent life free from addictions and its temptations.
But your sober home roommates don’t just understand what you’re doing with your life. They’ll also hold you accountable every day. Plus, sober homes are staffed by house managers, who almost always are veterans of drug and alcohol addiction treatment. They’re not just there to keep the peace and assign chores; they’re in the home to listen. If you’re feeling stressed, worried about relapse, or just need to talk, house managers are there for you.
One last thing: sober homes are often connected with a drug rehab or an addiction center. These give you even more recovery veterans to meet, share with, and talk to if you need guidance or a sympathetic ear. Remember, addiction tends to isolate us. You’re not alone.
You Get to Redevelop Those Life Skills … and Maybe Find Some New Ones: When we were addicted to drugs and alcohol, a lot of other things got left behind. Keeping our finances together, keeping appointments, eating right, and even hygiene get neglected in addiction.
Sober homes allow you to relearn (or improve) these life skills and give you a safe place to practice other life skills. Everyone does chores in a sober home. This shared duty keeps the house running, helps keep things fair, and helps you relearn how to take care of yourself. You can even learn new skills, like how to prepare for a job interview.
Sober Living is a Great Defense Against Relapse: Sober living homes can shield you from parts of a former life you no longer want to live. Old friends, hangouts, and other familiar locations can be very powerful relapse triggers. Exposure to them in early recovery can often be too much.
In a sober home, meanwhile, triggers simply don’t exist. Sober homes are drug (and temptation) free environments where drugs just aren’t available. This is where your sober home roommates come in again. They share your goals, are in recovery themselves, and aren’t going to peer pressure you back into drug and alcohol abuse.
Sober Homes Are a Dry Run for Real Life: Sober homes allow you to rehearse for mainstream life. A sober home provides a bridge between the intense structure of treatment and the fast pace of normal, everyday life. Careers, school, get-togethers, other social expectations … when you’re in recovery, these things need to be rehearsed.
A sober home lets you dip a toe into real life while still having a refuge from daily pressures and addiction triggers. There’s no better way to graduate from drug and alcohol addiction treatment than a sober home.
The Next Step: Finding A Sober Home for You
There are many sober living homes across the country. If you can think of a demographic, age, or even interest, there’s likely a sober home ready to serve people in those groups.
But finding one can be a challenge – with so many to choose from, which one’s right for you? What are the rules and expectations like? Can I afford it?
Questions like those are why we created SoberLivingNearYou.com. It’s a massive directory with thousands of sober home listings. With our site, you’ll be able to find your perfect sober home match.
Don’t wait – find your sober home today with SoberLivingNearYou.com!