The journey of recovery from alcoholism or drug addiction is a lifelong process. There are different stages in recovery that can be more challenging than others. These points in your recovery can dramatically increase the risk level for a relapse.
Transitional periods are often the stages that require your most vigilant efforts to stay clean and sober. Treatment programs can fill you with hope until that day you walk out the door. It can be frightening to once again face life’s trials and tribulation on your own. You don’t have to jump back into the challenges of everyday life.
Halfway houses are an excellent option to help you ease back into day-to-day activities while staying clean and sober. For that very reason, they are often called transitional houses. Here’s how halfway houses can help ease you out of treatment without risking relapse.
Stability
Most addicts and alcoholics have lost any sense of stability in their lives. Treatment will begin to help you stabilize your life without drugs or alcohol. However, it is not designed to live life for you. The early days out of treatment are the most unstable.
Halfway houses establish a bridge between treatment and everyday life. This can be a period where you can stabilize relationships, employment or other aspects of your life that need rebuilding. Helping to add stability to your life is one way halfway houses help you reduce the risk of relapse.
Sobriety
There are going to be guidelines you must follow while you’re part of transitional housing. One of the most important is the requirement that you stay clean and sober. That single rule applies to everyone in residence.
Surrounded by sobriety is far better than what some alternatives may be. Many times addicts and alcoholics will return to their neighborhoods, surrounded on all sides by triggers. Early recovery can be tough. When you have sober people all around you, it will dramatically reduce the risk of relapse as opposed to the alternative.
Accountability
Many addicts and alcoholics have lost any sense of being accountable for their actions. Treatment can provide a sheltered atmosphere long enough to establish a foundation for recovery.
However, there are going to be responsibilities that you will need to learn to meet. These could be family responsibilities or job obligations. Being part of a halfway house community will provide you with hands-on experience at developing accountability.
Connections
Addicts and alcoholics are notorious for having a select group of friendships that invariably revolve around their addictions. Making new friendships and connections after treatment is critical.
Sure, you can go to meetings or attend recovery fellowships, but these opportunities to make friendships only last a short time. Living in a halfway house will give you daily opportunities to learn how to make connections with people and build meaningful friendships.
Build Your Program
Halfway houses are designed to teach you a number of valuable skills to help reduce the risk of relapse. Treatment will expose you to an enormous amount of knowledge and information on what you need to do to avoid a relapse.
Residential halfway houses often coordinate in-house meetings and workshops for the residents. You will be living in an environment where you can further embed the knowledge you learned in treatment into your life.
Clean Time
One final thing that a halfway house will give you is time. If you follow the guidelines for living in a traditional community, you will add to your clean time one day at a time. Before you know it, you’ll have a few more 24-hours under your belt.
No one in recovery will insist that it will always be easy. However, dealing with triggers and understanding how to avoid a relapse does. The time you spend living in a halfway house will give you a chance to put some valuable clean time under your belt.
Treatment is an important step to take towards recovering from an addiction. If you think you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, you need to consider getting help. You should do it today because tomorrow may be too late.
If you’ve completed a treatment program, you should also consider the benefits of transitional housing. Halfway houses are like a bridge between you and real-life sobriety. They will make the transition smoother plus teach you things along the way.
You completed treatment with a goal to live clean and sober. Why not help make that a reality by starting out after treatment living in a halfway house to help reduce the risk of relapse? Call us today at 772-266-5320.
