Although addiction is a chronic disease, recovery is possible. Treatment helps teach you how to manage your symptoms and cope with cravings, as well as how to repair damage caused by your addiction. Treatment can include options like residential treatment, partial hospitalization, and sober living. But what is sober living, and how can it help you recover?
When you struggle with an addiction, substance abuse disorder, or alcoholism, your life can fall apart. Addiction can damage your relationships, cause serious medical problems, and lead to a diminished standard of living. When drugs and alcohol become the most important part of your life, you can neglect your personal, financial, and emotional needs. Addiction can also lead to increasingly severe consequences, such as fatal and non-fatal overdoses and organ damage.
The Process of Addiction
Addiction is a deadly disease that impairs your judgment, causes changes to your brain chemistry, and distorts your reasoning. When you use drugs and alcohol, your brain releases more neurotransmitters than it should. The rush of neurotransmitters creates the positive effects of intoxication and causes your brain to associate your substance of choice with pleasure. When your brain makes this association, you experience cravings whenever you don’t use it. Eventually, your brain restricts the release of pleasurable neurotransmitters when you stop using and only releases neurotransmitters when you use your substance of choice.
This neurotransmitter imbalance can change your mood and personality. Another consequence of addiction is that it can aggravate underlying medical and mental health problems. Since your liver is responsible for filtering impurities, abusing drugs and alcohol can overwork your liver.
Addiction can also cause:
- Mental health problems
- Cognitive and neurological impairments
- Financial problems and mounting debt
- Strained family relationships
- Legal problems
The reason why treatment is needed to recover from addiction is that cravings can last long after you stop using, which can make you susceptible to a relapse.
What is Sober Living?
So, what is sober living? Sober living provides you with drug and alcohol-free housing during recovery. Sober living can also provide additional treatment, with many programs occurring on-site. That means you don’t have to travel in order to participate in treatment. When you are wondering what is sober living and why is it beneficial, the simple answer is that it provides increased stability.
During addiction, most of the people you associate with or even live with likely also use drugs and alcohol. That means that it’s dangerous to continue to socialize with active users during your recovery, which is why sober living is so useful. Not only does sober living ensure that your residence remains free from drugs and alcohol, it can also make it easier to reintegrate into the real world following inpatient treatment.
If you are wondering what is sober living, it’s important to remember that it is different than residential or inpatient treatment. While sober living offers treatment programs, it’s not a substitute for inpatient treatment.
It is important to think about these things before you complete treatment, as it can strengthen your discharge plan. Ensuring that you have a safe, supportive, and healthy place to live following treatment is central to your sobriety. When you live at a sober residence, it can make it easier to begin adjusting to life without drugs and alcohol. Additionally, you can keep working and going to school.
Finding a Sober Living House Today
When you’re wondering what is sober living, you likely are considering your recovery options. These programs are a great way to embrace your sobriety, especially if you just completed an inpatient or outpatient program. To find out more about your sober living options, call us today at 844.287.8506.
