A few weeks of professional inpatient care is a great way to start addiction treatment, but true recovery is an ongoing process that often requires a lifetime of work. That’s why so many people with addiction disorders choose to stay in a sober living home after leaving treatment. Read on to find out the benefits of sober living after treatment.
What Is a Sober Living Home?
First, let’s have a look at what a sober living home actually is. Also known as halfway houses, sober living homes are shared facilities that offer recovering addicts and alcoholics the structure, support, and guidance they so often need after leaving a treatment program.
Sober living homes are typically built around a specific recovery model that residents are required to participate in during their stay. And while every sober home is a little different, each has a set of other rules that residents must follow as well.
Typically, these rules are designed to:
- Protect the sobriety of the individual and the group
- Facilitate the building of authentic and supportive relationships
- Teach the discipline and habits that a life of sobriety requires
- Act as a bridge between the treatment environment and the wider world
The most important thing to know about sober living homes is that they work. Like a reputable treatment center, they employ evidence-based practices that have been shown to improve clients’ chances for long-term recovery.
The Benefits of Sober Living Homes
Here are some of the most important benefits of staying in a sober living home upon leaving treatment:
- They help eliminate the temptation to use or drink again when difficult situations arise. It takes time for the brain to repair itself, and the sober living environment can reduce the risk of early relapse significantly.
- At sober living homes, you are surrounded by peers who are trying to achieve the same goals as you. The type of peer support they can offer is invaluable to the recovery process.
- Personal accountability is a huge part of authentic recovery. Sober living programs insist upon this kind of accountability and help clients develop more responsible habits.
- The group dynamic of sober living homes helps guard newly sober clients from the dangers of isolation. Similarly, they help clients build the supportive, long-term relationship that every addict needs for sustained recovery.
- Lastly, sober living homes are one of the best ways to stay connected to the recovery community as you transition back into the challenges of everyday life.
Sober Living for a Sustained Recovery
It takes time to recover from alcohol or drug addiction. It also requires a great deal of hard work and internal change. People with substance use disorders do themselves a disservice when they stop this critical work upon leaving treatment. While helping increase self-esteem and confidence is one of the central goals of treatment, far too many clients forget what they’ve learned and end up relapsing without a rigorous aftercare program.
Sober living homes help clients avoid this unenviable fate. Every addict deserves a rich and rewarding life. Please give yourself the best chance at creating such a life by receiving the benefits of sober living after treatment.