Looking For Sober Living Homes?

2. Synopsis 1. Important Meetings That Are Necessary In Sober Living Housing 2. Following the Rules for Sober Living Housing 3. What Should You Be Looking for In Sober Living Homes? 4. Which Services Make For Great Sober Living Homes?

3. Important Meetings That Are Necessary In Sober Living Housing Group meetings are usually required, and you’ll need to attend all the meetings that are assigned to you. These meetings are for all the residents of the sober living house and allow you to share your feelings, fears and concerns about your journey to being drug and alcohol-free. You’ll also get the chance to talk about the accomplishments and milestones you’ve reached during your stay in the facility, and celebrate these achievements with those who understand the challenges you’ve faced to make progress. Many facilities have a 12-step program that you’ll have to follow, which means group and individual meetings are a must to monitor your success and to address potential issues as soon as they arise. You’ll also have to meet with a therapist or counsellor while you’re in sober living housing. This means that you’ll need to have a regular time to meet with your counsellor and talk about your mental state, the things that may have kept you from remaining sober before and which triggers make it easier for you to start living a destructive lifestyle again. It’s very important to be as honest as possible in these sessions, because once you reveal your true emotions and mindset concerning your addiction, your therapist can give you the tools you need to start changing the way you think about your health and your life so that you can maintain sobriety. Some counsellors will also require you to have counselling sessions with your family, so you can hear the ways that your addiction has affected the lives of the people who are closest to you. Once you know how your children, spouse, grandchildren or best friends truly feel about your addiction to alcohol and drugs, it could prompt you to start making the major changes that are necessary for your complete recovery. • •

4. Important Meetings That Are Necessary In Sober Living Housing In addition to counselling sessions, you may be required to meet with a medical doctor as well. It may be necessary for you to take prescriptions that will reduce withdrawal symptoms before your body is ready to simply follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly to eliminate addiction tendencies. You may also need medications for mental conditions like depression and anxiety, since these conditions may be the cause for drug use. Sponsor meetings are required when you’re living in a sober living facility as well. Your sponsor may introduce you to other recovering addicts that you can mentor and inspire. You’ll also have to work with the sponsor to make sure that you are accountable for your actions as you prepare to transition back into society. This will impact you in a positive way once your stint in the facility is over, since it will assist you in remembering the training and tactics you’ve learned, which will become part of your lifestyle over time. • •

5. Following the Rules for Sober Living Housing One of the main rules that you’ll usually have to follow is a curfew. Make sure that you know what time you need to be in every night, and whether you’re allowed to spend the night somewhere else while you’re living in the sober home. Remember that these rules are in place so that you won’t be tempted to start drinking or using drugs again as a result of being around bad influences. You’ll usually need to be home before it’s too late at night so that you won’t go to parties or clubs, where alcohol and drugs are often abundant. If you’re allowed to stay overnight outside of the house or you’re permitted to have overnight visitors, the leaders of the facility will often evaluate the situation to make sure you’re spending time with people who truly love you and have your best interest at heart. There are even some times that spending quality time with a friend or loved one could help you on your sobriety journey. For instance, if a parent, best friend or child wants to spend the night with you while you’re living in the sober facility, this could further motivate you to stick to your health goals. Counselling is often a requirement for the length of time that you’re in sober living housing as well. You can start out going to a therapist by yourself a few times a week, so that you can go through exercises or have conversations that will help you to figure out the reason(s) behind your drug use and the reasons it may have been difficult to quit before. You may also need to have a list of goals that you need and want to accomplish before you leave the sober house, as well as goals that you want to achieve after moving out. Some sober living housing facilities also recommend that you attend counselling with your immediate and extended family, especially those who have tried to help you through your addiction and have been saddened and hurt by your actions. Healing the emotional wounds that often come with drug and alcohol abuse is a very important step for ensuring that you truly get clean and remain that way. • •

6. What Should You Be Looking for In Sober Living Homes? The actual quality of the facility is important, since a nice environment can motivate a recovering addict to continue living a drug and alcohol-free life. If the living arrangements are nicely decorated, have plenty of natural light and include bright colors that promote happiness and mental balance, this can improve your mood and motivate you to adopt practices that will help you maintain your health. There are also a variety of services that are offered at sober living homes that you or your family member may want to take advantage of. Many of these homes provide group and individual counselling services so you can keep working through reasons for your addiction and learning beneficial ways to cope with stress or anxiety. So, whether you want to talk to a therapist on your own or think it would be best to have counselling sessions with your loved ones, you can choose the therapy that is best for you. There are also medical doctors on staff at may sober living homes who can prescribe medications that will help stabilize your mood and balance brain chemicals that will keep you or your relative on the path to sobriety. • •

7. What Should You Be Looking for In Sober Living Homes? Living a healthy lifestyle is another part of becoming and remaining sober. During a stay at a sober home, you’ll learn how to meditate, so you can focus on positive things and train your mind to find worthwhile methods for turning away from harmful substances and making sobriety a lifestyle. Meditation coaches are on hand, and diet and nutrition professionals are often part of the team to assist you in feeding your body the right nutrients and making your health a priority. The time spent at a sober living house also means that you’ll need a sponsor who will support you when it comes to living a life that is free of drugs and alcohol. The sponsor is usually someone who is a former addict and has successfully managed to live substance-free for a significant amount of time. The sponsor will be able to help you see how you can restore relationships with family and friends and maintain a steady job after overcoming addiction. Finally, make sure you choose a sober living home that offers outpatient services. Even after you move out of the sober house, you’ll need guidance and encouragement that will keep you from spending time with friends who are a bad influence or stressful family situations that make it easier to drink or use drugs. Outpatient counselling can also review your life goals with you and help you stick to these goals and check achievements off your list as you achieve milestones that make living a drug-free lifestyle easier by the day. • • •

8. Which Services Make For Great Sober Living Homes? When it comes to counselling, choose a sober living home that offers both individual and group/family sessions. There are some aspects of your sobriety journey that you’ll need to figure out on your own with the help of a professional therapist. However, there are other parts of the process that you’ll need to work through with the people who have been directly affected by your drug or alcohol use. For instance, if your substance abuse caused you to lose your job and ability to take care of your family, it may be best to sit down with your spouse and children and apologize for the way that your drug use has negatively changed the family dynamic. If you’ve experienced family trauma due to something your parents, siblings or extended family have done to you, or your entire family has gone through a tragedy that led you to alcohol or drugs, you’ll need to discuss this in therapy sessions that will help you and all your loved ones find the healing and resolve you need to truly start healing and living a sober life. The journey to sobriety is very much mental, which is why practices like yoga and meditation can help you become healthier. If you want to use holistic methods to help you achieve mental balance, a sober living facility that offers daily meditation and yoga sessions could prove to be beneficial. It’s also a good idea to make sure that the sober home you want to live in gives you access to a health coach or dietician so you’ll know which foods will nourish your mind and body and help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety that can make it more difficult to be drug-free. • •

9. The End For more details, please visit: http://soberliving.ca/our-facility/