Stepping from treatment back into the reality of your everyday life can be problematic. Treatment gives you the tools to stay clean and sober, but sometimes situations and circumstances create a monumental challenge to stay that way. One way to help dramatically improve your chances of avoiding relapse and staying sober is a sober living program.
These are frequently referred to as halfway or traditional housing. Sober living houses have been a bridge for thousands of addicts and alcoholics from treatment back into their normal lives. Here are some rules and expectations of a sober living program.
Stay Clean and Sober
The reason you have elected to participate in a sober living program is that you want to stay that way. One key to being part of a sober house is that it is designed to help remove relapse triggers.
Being around drugs and alcohol is one of the most dangerous triggers, especially in early recovery. Therefore, it’s just common sense that the first expectation a sober living program will have of its participants is to stay sober.
Sobriety is the reason you’re there, and that needs to be everyone’s number one priority. The requirement to stay clean and sober means on and off the property.
Each sober living program may have a different method of overseeing this rule, but regular drug and alcohol screening is common. It doesn’t mean someone will automatically be shown the door if they relapse.
House Meetings
The meeting structure of the sober living house will normally be separate from any program recovery meeting requirements. A schedule of house meetings will be made available to all residents.
There is usually not a lot of latitude for excuses to miss house meetings. These are opportunities for fellow residents to become better acquainted, plus air issues and concerns they may have.
It is a time when house coordinators can assign various house chores and responsibilities, plus hear concerns and consider suggestions from residents.
Zero Violence Policy
While a relapse may or may not get a resident kicked out of a sober living environment, violence is the quickest way to get booted. There are going to be people from different demographics, ethnicities and life experiences all living in one community.
Everything in the community environment will not be expected to be perfect all the time. There may be disagreements and arguments. However, turning to physical violence is almost a guaranteed way to get you expelled from a sober living program.
Each sober living program will develop their own set of rules and guidelines. There may be cleaning duties on this list, plus rules about how you conduct yourself during specific hours. Sober living homes usually have curfews, and you may be required to participate in some type of recovery fellowship.
Because of these rules and expectations, sober living programs are successful in helping recovering addicts and alcoholics bridge that gap between treatment and a new life. If you think you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, get help now. Don’t want until tomorrow, because tomorrow may be too late.
If you’re nearing the end of a treatment program, or have finished one recently, strongly consider a sober living program to help build upon the tools you’ve learned. It can be a place to build lifelong relationships. But, most importantly, a place to help you stay clean and sober. Call us now at (866) 963-7200. We can help.