Pros And Cons Of Sober Houses

Drag to rearrange sections
Rich Text Content

image

No one ever said that recovering from addictionsLinks to an external site. to alcohol or drugs would be easy.  Most people are not able to find the strength and attitude to recover without getting professional help.  Your decision to find treatment is courageous, but what is the plan when your residential care is over?  Who will you turn to for help?

 

After leaving your rehab center, it will quickly become evident that old friends, dangerous situations and bad habits which led to your addictions can cloud your sobriety in early recovery.  The fact of the matter is that staying sober after going to treatment is hard.

 

Relapse is all to common for people who have been recently released from rehab.  Roughly 60% of people who are in recovery from opioids will release at least once after they have been through treatment, and usually, this will occur shortly after they have been released.

 

The mere thought of getting the help required after relapsing might feel like a doom and gloom cycle, but it does not have to be that way.  Recovery takes alot of hard work, commitment and dedication – but sobriety from drugs and alcohol is possible.  Sober living facilities can help you to stay on the path to recovery, while minimizing risks of early relapse following your release from treatment.

 

What is a sober home?

Sober homesLinks to an external site. feature a set of rules which help keep residents of the house on the path of healing and sobriety.  Like treatment centers, sober living houses require that residents do not use any drugs or alcohol, and they usually require random testing to make sure that residents are clean and sober.  Unlike treatment centers, sober houses provide residents with the ability to come and go, to work, and to live their lives.  Residents do not have to stay in the home.

 

Each sober home has its own structure.  Usually, residents work their way up in the unit, gaining more freedom.  For example, a new resident might have more chores and responsibilities in the home, but when they prove that they are staying sober and doing what is right, they receive greater freedom.

 

Early residents in sober homes usually have frequent drug or alcohol screenings, earlier curfews and bedtimes, and stricter rules than the residents of the house who have proven their ability to remain clean and sober.  As time goes on, residents who continue to maintain sobriety, take part in meetings and keep to the rules of the sober home will see that their limitations are reduced.

 

Sober house rules

While each sober home has its own rules, most of the time the rules involve common denominators of keeping sober and staying in control of your recovery.  As in work or school, breaking rules can lead to grounds for eviction from the house, while breaking of less serious rules might just lead to consequences such as losing privileges.

 

Pros of sober living

Living in a sober home has a number of different advantages.  The advantages which are experienced can depend on the attitude and needs of each resident.  Some of the pros of sober living include:

 

  • Continuing to participate in twelve step programs like AA or NA.
  • The application of twelve step lessons to situations outside of treatment.
  • Peer support with other people in the sober home who have the same goals of recovery
  • Motivation to stick to the sober life
  • Ability to feel comfortable straight out of treatment

 

Cons of sober living

Just as there are many benefits to living in a sober house, there are also some negative aspects.  Like the positive elements of a sober house, negative aspects depend on the circumstances of the person and can vary from person to person or from sober home to sober home.  Some of the cons of living in a sober house include:

 

  • Having to participate in a twelve-step program that the individual does not feel is ideal
  • Anxiety and stress caused by the thought of being evicted if rules of the sober house are broken
  • Poor accommodation which exists in sober sober living houses
  • Lack of a communal environment, which is the reality of some sober living houses

 

How to find a sober house

Your first step when looking for a sober house might be to simply search Google for “sober house near me”.  You will be presented with a list of options, likely in your local area.  If you would like to try something other than Googling “sober house near me”, then reach out to friends and family who may have been to a sober house in the past, and ask them about their experiences.



rich_text    
Drag to rearrange sections
Rich Text Content
rich_text    

Page Comments