A North Carolina sober living home can be an exhilarating breath of fresh air for those completing an inpatient rehab program or another intensive form of substance abuse treatment.
Researchers have found that clients who move directly into North Carolina sober living homes after receiving drug and alcohol addiction treatment are more likely to achieve long-term sobriety than those who return directly to their homes after rehab.
What Do North Carolina
Sober Living Homes Have to Offer?
A North Carolina sober living home typically offers lodging, weekly one-on-one counseling and daily group therapy sessions in an open, relaxed and supportive environment. If necessary, addiction treatment can include treatment for co-occurring medical or mental health disorders.
Compared to the highly structured environment of inpatient rehab, sober living programs are more like the real world.
Residents can venture out into the community at their own pace, try out their latest recovery tools, identify triggers and develop new abilities for real-world coping that can help them maintain a strong and lasting recovery when they go home.
Who Is a Good Candidate for a
Sober Living Program?
Anyone who has just completed inpatient substance abuse treatment and is currently clean and sober can benefit from a sober living program.
These semi-structured programs bridge the gap between inpatient care and independent living. Sober living communities can eliminate the shock of transitioning from the protective environment of residential rehab to the harsh reality of the real world.
Sober living provides North Carolina residents with a safe space to explore a sober lifestyle while still enjoying the safety offered by a sober living home.
These programs are appropriate for anyone who is concerned about maintaining their recovery in North Carolina after discharge and wants to reduce the risk of addiction by taking every possible precaution to avoid relapse.
What Kind of Treatment Options and
Support Groups Are Available in Sober Living Communities?
Sober living involves structured and unstructured activities. Residents participate in both, and they are encouraged to develop effective time-management skills they can use now and when they go home.
Structured activities include daily group therapy and weekly individual counseling. Family therapy sessions are an important part of the addiction recovery process and are strongly encouraged in most cases. Residents in recovery from addiction can participate in other treatment options like outpatient programs as part of their structured activities.
Unstructured activities can involve working, looking for a job or going to school. There is ample time for community events and North Carolina recreational activities like hiking, motorbike riding and cross-country skiing.
Learning to enjoy life without substances is a high priority in sober living communities. In fact, many sober living residents develop new and exciting interests they didn’t have before. Community activities are designed to build strong connections between residents. Participants rely on each other as a primary support group.
One of the most powerful ways to maintain your sobriety and to help others do the same is to maintain a strong connection with other sober people. If you try to go it alone, you are very likely to fail.
Are There Rules in
Sober Living Homes?
In a sober living situation, you will be expected to undergo regular drug and alcohol screening as part of an ongoing treatment for addiction. You must refrain from bringing items like drugs, alcohol and weapons into the sober living facility.
A 9:00 p.m. curfew encourages residents to establish a regular routine and to relax in the evenings. However, the curfew can be modified if your job involves later hours.
You can have visitors, but the visits must be approved in advance. Many clients use this opportunity to see loved ones and to participate in family therapy for addiction treatment in preparation for returning home.
As part of ongoing treatment for addiction, most sober living homes require regular attendance at 12-Step groups and provide transportation to and from meetings. You are responsible for maintaining your abstinence, doing household chores, attending house meetings, helping with meal preparation and arranging for payment of your expenses.
How Long Do People Stay in Sober Living Homes?
There is no limit on how long you can stay in a sober living program. The length of your stay is based solely on your needs. The only move-in requirement is completion of a residential rehab or intensive outpatient treatment program.
If you have previously been in recovery for addiction and were in a sober living home, you are always welcome to return after another rehab as long as you are clean and sober now.
Many people enter a sober living home planning to stay for a few months. Instead, they stay for two years. The length of your stay in a sober house for addiction treatment will depend on your particular treatment needs and your individual circumstances.
Studies have established that the longer you stay in a sober living community, the more likely you are to enjoy long-term sobriety when you leave and the less likely you are to fall prey to active addiction in the future.
Researchers have also found that the longer you receive treatment for addiction, the less likely you are to relapse. Sober living allows you to gradually reestablish yourself in the community while learning to protect yourself from triggers associated with addiction.
Managing the challenges of daily living when you are newly sober isn’t easy. Temptation is literally around every corner if it’s not already being shoved in your face. Nevertheless, regular attendance at 12-Step meetings and the support of your fellow residents can provide the strength you need to stay sober for another day.
What Is Sober Living?
At its best, sober living gives you an opportunity to continue the healing work you began in residential treatment instead of jumping back into the situation that got you in trouble in the first place.
Sober living homes encourage residents to build strong connections with each other. Watching your friends stay sober in spite of challenges can give you the motivation you need to stay sober yourself.
Ongoing counseling and other forms of treatment can provide further insight into the things that fueled your addiction. It can help you to identify triggers, avoid relapse and recover from addiction.
Is a Sober Living Home the Same
As a Halfway House?
Halfway houses are residential facilities that serve a diverse population. Some are transitioning from jail back into society. Others are individuals with chronic mental illness. Still others are people who are homeless because they can’t afford to get substance abuse treatment.
The primary difference between halfway houses and sober living facilities is the length of stay. If you move into a sober living home, you can stay for as long as you want as long as you follow the rules. If you move into a halfway house, you can only stay for a few months. And because halfway houses are usually government-funded agencies, they are subject to funding cuts at any time.
That adds another layer of instability and uncertainty to an already shaky situation.
What Are the Benefits of Sober Living?
Sober houses are ideal for individuals recovering from drug and alcohol addiction who want more freedom but are not yet ready for immersion in the real world.
Spending time in a sober living facility gives you a chance to practice your recovery skills and still have a safe place to come home to.
Because people in sober living communities face many of the same challenges, they are uniquely qualified to understand and support each other. Together, they become a family.
Heading straight home after inpatient substance abuse treatment is a common trigger for relapse. Sober living homes give you time to assess the situation at home and make arrangements that will support your recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
A sober living home gives you a chance to imagine what it might be like to go home before you actually have to do it.
Findings That Support Sober Living
Researchers have found that sober living homes can reduce relapse rates and help those with drug and alcohol addiction to grow in recovery and maintain a lasting sobriety.
Clients who undergo substance abuse treatment and have strong social networks with many friends in long-term recovery have better treatment outcomes three years after drug and alcohol addiction treatment compared to those with minimal support and no social network.
Still have questions? Schedule a free confidential consultation with an addiction treatment specialist at FAR now.
