Benefits Of A Sober Community

There are uncountable benefits to being part of a sober community if you are in substance abuse or addiction recovery.

Substance abuse and addiction can be exceedingly lonely. Part of the explanation of addiction is that it is a disease that results in an individual’s complete disregard for the personal negative consequences to one’s social, emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing and life. This can leave an individual without any true support system and also leave him or her in poor health. Many individuals who struggle with substance abuse or addiction will drop any relationship that threatens his or her drug or alcohol use. This creates space for a person to make friends that are primarily based off of the abuse of drugs or alcohol. When a person makes the choice to stop abusing drugs or alcohol, he or she may find him or herself completely alone in the beginning stages.

A huge pillar of the foundation of substance abuse and addiction treatment is that of community.

In many substance abuse and addiction treatment programs, there is significant time spent in group therapy and working with peers and other individuals in treatment to help with one’s own recovery. Integrating new, sober, relationships into a person’s treatment program will help him or her to foster friendships that are not based on the use of drugs or alcohol.

Once an individual has completed his or her substance abuse or addiction treatment program, he or she will be faced with reentering the outside world.

This can bring up feelings of anxiety, fear, loneliness and much more. Many of the tools and techniques taught and practiced throughout one’s treatment program will be helpful in the reintegration process, but what will be most helpful is the knowledge that the individual is not alone. Making sure he or she is a part of a sober community will be incredibly helpful in creating a successful transition situation.

One way of doing this is for an individual to live in a sober living facility. This creates a built in sober community for a person newly emerging from a substance abuse or addiction treatment program.

A sober living facility is a residential location where people live for a varying length of time after he or she has successfully completed a substance abuse or addiction treatment program. There are specific rules unique to each sober living facility surrounding a client’s commitments, but every sober living facility maintains that each client must remain sober.

Outside of a sober living facility, an individual will create his or her own network creating a personal sober community.

It can consist of individuals a person met in his or her treatment program, sober living facility, or after. Having an active sober community, can help an individual further his or her personal growth, by being available to be of service to other individuals who are at different stages in their recovery process. It also provides a built-in support network for an individual in recovery, as there will be various times when he or she will need help on his or her journey.

Some established sober communities will stem from substance abuse or addiction support groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA).

These support groups are located all over the United States and are offered at all times of the day, open to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. AA and NA meetings are excellent places for a person in need of vamping up his or her sober network to meet people with a common goal. Having supportive, healthy people around is always beneficial in maintaining one’s sobriety. The encouragement and the personal accountability that can come from being surrounding by and including other sober individuals in one’s daily life can be motivating in remaining sober.

Further Information

The treatment process and recovery from substance abuse or addiction will be a lifelong endeavor. Substance abuse and addiction are all consuming, and if left untreated can result in extremely challenging short and long term consequences, and in some cases, can lead to death. If you or someone you know is suffering from substance abuse or addiction, please get help as soon as possible. There is no reason to go through this process alone. Please feel free to reach out to us for further information or with any questions regarding substance abuse or addiction. We are available anytime via telephone at: 213-389-9964, or you can always email us at: info@friendlyhousela.org.