Treatment of addiction can be a long and painful process. Most people who are in the process of recovering may suffer constant irritability. Other signs of substance abuse are communication problems, emotional instability, or mood swings. Addiction may cause people to struggle in keeping up the pace with their daily life activities. Even the maintenance of their surroundings and personal hygiene can be neglected.
Depending on the type of substance abused, varying psychological and physical symptoms start to progress or show. A negative change in behavior would be more evident, and some start to show symptoms of serious illnesses. Depression, suicidal tendencies, and anxiety are some examples of psychological symptoms. On the other hand, a weakened immune system and failure of certain organs progress.
Seeking professional help is the best decision to make. It could be a difficult choice to pick but it’s the best option to take. While participating in a recovery program, the transition could be painful and slow. Remember, addiction is a powerful disease and will take plenty of time and work to regain psychological and emotional stability. Recovering patients can undergo various levels of treatments to gain full recovery. Or better yet, they can join in sober living.
So, who can benefit from partaking in sober living? Generally, the following are the characteristics of participants who benefit most from sober living.
1. Completed A Certain Level of Treatment
Prior to participating in sober living, one has to complete at least a certain level of treatment. As mentioned earlier, seeking professional help is the best decision to make. Undergoing professional psychological and physical treatment could be one important level of healing. Participants who have undergone such therapy would adjust to sober living more smoothly.
2. An Established Support System
A well-established support system would highly benefit a person participating in sober living. A support group to whom a participant can talk about his struggles and challenges provides an effective lifeline during difficult times. A support system also provides healthy peer pressure that could be very helpful to keep a participant clean and stay away from relapse. A person will no longer have a difficult time expressing or talking about his feelings with other people.
3. A Co-Occurring (Dual Diagnosis) Mental or Medical Illness
Sober living has the expertise, complete support, and professional programs for participants who have co-occurring mental or medical illnesses. Sober living offers treatment options that are tailor-made to address a participant’s unique diagnoses. Participants with dual diagnoses will receive both intensive therapeutic and medical treatment all at the same time for both disorders.
4. Incapable of Sustaining Recovery When Returning Home
A participant who’s not stable in their recovery would benefit most from sober living. Instead of returning home, sober living programs can sustain the recuperation of people who have difficulty doing it on their own. The process of returning to a normal state of mental and physical health could be achieved with the support of sober living programs.
5. Requires Extended Support Between Treatment Approaches
Sometimes, people recovering from addiction suffer difficulty in sustaining their recovery in between completing residential therapy and initiating outpatient treatment. In such a situation, sober living is designed to provide support and assistance.
6. Not Confident With His Recovery
A participant who’s not stable with their recovery would be worrying about relapse. Moreso, a relapse could be more likely to such patients. Sober living could administer sessions and therapies to boost the confidence of a recovering patient. The development of sober skills, fellowships, regular social support, and other programs can help to rebuild self-confidence.
Several studies and researches established that sober living is effective in helping out people with sobriety problems. Additionally, it was also proven that a higher success rate in recovery maintenance is attained when an individual stays longer in addiction treatment. Participants who undergo more time under treatment acquire more skills in keeping themselves sober. Moreover, recovered patients are more equipped with skills in avoiding relapse.
The most important or valuable thing that one could get in a sober living is the ability to remain sober. The possibility of a relapse is less likely or has a very slim chance. If you have friends and family who have undergone recovery treatment, sober living could further enhance their recovery. Such facilities are already proven effective in benefitting people who are working on their long-term recovery.
Keep in mind that addiction is a serious problem that needs committed professional help.