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What is Sober Living?

If you’ve ever wondered “what is sober living” and how it works, here are some answers that might help. Sober living homes, or halfway homes, are drug and alcohol free premises that provide recovering people with a clean, temptation-free environment in which to complete the recovery process.

4 Minute Read | Published Oct 02 2023 | Updated Mar 11 2024 Expert Verified
Emma Collins
Written by
Dameisha Gibson
Reviewed by
Emma Collins
Written by
Dameisha Gibson
Reviewed by

What is sober living and how does it help with recovery from drug or alcohol addiction?

When a person enters into a comprehensive inpatient rehab treatment program, they have the advantage of residing at the facility for the duration of treatment. However, when they graduate from rehab, they often don’t have a safe, drug-free environment to return home to.

For those people who are motivated to stay sober, but don’t have a safe home environment, the option is to find a sober living home to live in. The person resides in a sober community home temporarily while they learn healthy, productive ways to continue living a clean and sober lifestyle.

By the time the recovering person is ready to leave the sober living community, they should be well-prepared to return to independent living with a reduced need to give into temptation to relapse back to a pattern of substance abuse.

What Is Sober Living and How Does It Help Recovery?

Many people who enter into a comprehensive rehab treatment program already live in an environment that is strongly linked to substance abuse. While the person is within a rehab treatment facility, the temptation of people or places associated with drug or alcohol use is removed.

However, even though the person may have graduated from rehab, they may not yet be ready to return to independent living. Some people may have concerns about returning to a home environment that encourages substance use. Others may not yet have built up enough confidence in their newly-learned recovery skills to remain clean and sober in their old home environment without giving into temptation and relapsing back into self-destructive patterns of behavior.

By comparison, leaving a comprehensive inpatient rehab treatment program and residing temporarily at a sober living community provides the ongoing motivation to continue with newly-learned sobriety skills and healthy habits.

Where Are the Best Sober Living Homes?

There are sober living communities available in almost every city and country across America. The best sober living homes are those that provide drug and alcohol free accommodation, but also incorporate stringent rules about living arrangements.

Many people in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction may have financial difficulties and may also have employment problems. While living in some of the best sober living homes that rehab centers can recommend, recovering people learn to be accountable for their actions and take responsibility for their role in the household.

Recovering people living in sober living communities are expected to assist with household chores. They’re expected to contribute towards rental expenses and food costs, which means entering into gainful employment and maintain a sober lifestyle.

Sober living communities also maintain strict rules about random drug and alcohol testing and maintaining a substance-free community. The residents in halfway homes help provide each other with the motivation needed to stay clean.

How is Sober Living Different to Rehab?

Rehab programs focus solely on an intensive recovery experience and provide residents with little freedom. By comparison, people living in some of the best sober living homes are encouraged to attend work or study commitments throughout the day.

While there are strict curfew limits set in the evenings when residents are expected to be home, throughout the day recovering people are learning to live healthy, productive lifestyles without the need for drugs or alcohol.

How to Find a Sober Living Home

The best way to find a sober living home that will be best suited to each person’s individual needs is to ask the addiction specialists at a rehab treatment center for recommendations. Sober living communities and halfway houses are located right across the country, so it’s possible to find a home that is right for each person, no matter where you might be.

So, what is sober living? It’s an opportunity to learn healthy new ways of living life that don’t require the need for drugs or alcohol. It’s a way to leave rehab without returning to former ways of living with the risk of relapsing back into self-destructive habits associated with addictive substance use.

Sober living communities are also a positive way to step down from a comprehensive rehab program and find positive ways to put newly-learned recovery tools and skills to good use before returning to independent living. The result can mean staying clean and sober over the long term.

If you would like to learn more about sober living homes and how to find one that fits your needs, call Better Addiction Care today at (800) 429-7690, and let us help you get on a successful path to recovery.

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