Once you or a loved one completes a substance abuse treatment program, the next stage is aftercare. At this point in recovery, individuals look to return to their daily lives only now sober. However, there are always challenges in maintaining recovery. One way to overcome these challenges and avoid relapse, which is very common, is entering a sober living home. But once you find the right program, you need to know the dos and donts of sober living.
Dos and Donts of Sober Living
Determining what is expected of you and what you expect out of a sober living home will go a long way to making you comfortable. You should avoid approaching sober living as something adversarial. Come to sober living in the spirit of cooperation. In this way, you’ll get the most out of it.
When you arrive, it’s expected you’ll respect the other residents there. This entails doing your assigned chores without complaint, cleaning up after yourself, and participating in the house meetings and activities. Also, just as you do these things, you should expect it from others. Because sober living is about building a support system and integrating back into a community, part of your job is making sure others live up to their end of the deal. We call this reciprocity. It’s the give-and-take allowing individuals to live together while still being unique, independent persons.
Of course, living a sober life means not using drugs or alcohol. One of the best ways to avoid this is by being around others striving to do the same. With everyone looking out for one another, supporting one another, the chances of relapse decrease. This makes going back to school or work that much easier. You build your confidence and learn to master your sobriety. Thus, what you will ‘do’ in sober living is build friendships, repair old relationships, and ease yourself back into daily living drug and alcohol-free. Sober living’s ‘donts’ mean not thinking it’s a free ride. Sober living isn’t a jail. But it isn’t a place you can get away with using again. Also, it’s not somewhere you’ll just be abandoned. Going into the program knowing these dos and donts of sober living sets you up for success.
Benefits of Sober Living
There’s more to recovery than simply checking off the dos and donts of sober living. This is why there’s no single set of rules. Each sober living program is unique. Because it is designed to meet the specific needs of its residents, each sober living home has its own set of rules. Affordable and an excellent way to prevent loneliness once you or your loved one emerges from detox or treatment, sober living’s benefits are clear. But what you get depends on what you put in.
With peer counseling as well as professional therapies and treatment present, you’ll stay on course with your recovery. Meeting new people with similar experiences will give you the background and resources you need. Finally, sober living lets you avoid the shock of suddenly being thrown back into your old life. Detox helped you heal. Treatment showed you how to overcome your issues. Sober living allows you to make sobriety real.
Dignity Hall
With several locations throughout New Jersey and in Philadelphia, Dignity Hall offers superb sober living facilities. Our professional staff and expert counselors commit themselves to your recovery. With compassion, patience, and diligence, Dignity Hall is here to help you transition back to your everyday life. We give you the space you need to heal. Also, we provide the therapy and resources you need to make sobriety a lasting feature of your life. Contact us today at 855.380.7560 to discover which of our sober living homes best suits you.
