Whether you are new to the world of recovery, or you’ve been around the block a few times — you might wonder just how important sober living homes are in the big scheme of things. After all, the therapy, counseling and treatment stuff happens at the drug and alcohol treatment center, right? The medical detox part of treatment usually happens at one of many dedicated drug detoxes in NJ.
So, where does sober living and recovery housing fit it?
Sure, you need a place to stay while you’re in a partial hospitalization program or IOP (staying at home is usually a bad idea). But what else is there to it? Does recovery housing in NJ really offer you anything more than a Motel 6 or Hilton does?
If they’re doing it right—ABSOLUTELY.
Addiction Treatment, Recovery and the Storms of Change
If you talk to anyone who’s been through a quality sober house for the duration, they will tell you how much of a role it played in forming their recovery. The reasons are pretty simple. Recovery is hard work, especially in the beginning. Change is often painful and recovery is nothing, if not change.
When you’re in addiction treatment, you often face challenges. You will learn about addiction, and avoiding triggers, sure. But you will reconsider the whole way you view yourself and the world. Overcoming addiction is about changing behaviors and habits. The only way to do that in a lasting way is to change the way we think.
After all, very few people can stay sober for long on willpower alone. Even if they do, they’ll be miserable and churning with anger, fear, guilt and unresolved trauma. That’s no way to live. Treatment and recovery will help you shed all of that and change. The storms of change can be pretty intense—but that’s usually a sign you’re doing it right and making progress!
What a Great Sober House in NJ Can Do For You
At the end of each day, when you’re going through those sometimes exhausting processes of change—-it really helps to have a place to go where you’re understood and supported. Where you go to cool down and “let the paint dry” really does make a difference.
As comfortable as you may feel at home, your place can’t offer the kind of specialized environment that recovery housing like ours does.
For example, one of the most important elements of successful recovery is fellowship. There’s no overestimating the power of living with others who are going through the same type of transformation you are. In fact, we’ve seen quite a lot of people form lifetime friendships in a sober home.
Road Testing Your Recovery in Sober Living
Another thing a sober living house offers you is a safe place to “road test” your recovery. What do we mean by that? Well, among other things, you’re learning new ways of thinking and behaving while you’re in recovery. It takes time for them to take root, but practice is also very helpful there.
Whether it’s learning how to open up to someone honestly, share your feelings, overcome resentment, carry the message or resolve a disagreement—-you will learn to do all of these things better. And a sober house is just about the best possible place to do it, because everyone there has mutual goals and understands what you’re going through.
Laying a Solid Foundation for Recovery in Sober Living
Think of recovery as a structure you build to protect your mind, body and spirit. Ideally, you will live within this structure for life. It will support you. It will provide you with not only safety and comfort, but wisdom with time. We never stop building, repairing and servicing our recovery.
A structure as important as your substance abuse recovery must be as strong and solid as you can build it. And where do you start building a structure that’s meant to last? The foundation. The foundation of addiction recovery is formed early on, when most of us are in treatment and sober living.
Living Your Recovery
Recovery isn’t a one and done sort of thing like an appendectomy or getting your tonsils out. It’s better to think of it as a lifestyle choice, like becoming a vegetarian. Except there’s obviously a lot more to recovery than what you put (and don’t put) into your body.
Because recovery is something we practice for life, building a solid foundation is important. It gives you stability when you’re faced with challenges or temptations out in the ‘real world’. The time you spend in a sober home can be really special. You’ll form valuable friendships, memories and learn life lessons.
At the end of the day, lived experience is what really forges strong recovery. Walking the walk. Practicing recovery with other people and that’s what sober living is all about.
Serenity at Bethany: Your Recovery Sanctuary
Building a solid foundation for a lifetime of recovery begins with understanding the fundamentals of recovery. The disease model of addiction, the nature of powerlessness and reliance on a Higher Power.
But, as G.I. Joe taught us, knowing is only half the battle. Building resilient recovery means practicing these principles in all our affairs. It’s not enough to simply know how we’re supposed to live. We need practice.
Serenity at Bethany is a place to get that practice. The fertile ground you need for growing recovery is right here.
As always, if you have any questions you don’t find an answer for here, you’re welcome to call us at (732) 479-3607 or email info@serenityatbethany.com
