If you have a drug or alcohol problem, you might be planning on heading to a rehabilitation facility for treatment. However, you could be wondering what your next step should be after rehab. For many, it’s not a good idea to return home right away. Instead, consider looking into recovery homes in Chicago. These are some of the reasons why a recovery home is critical if you want to stay sober in the long-term.

Surround Yourself With Like-Minded Individuals

It can be tough to return to the same home where you once abused alcohol or drugs, particularly if you have family members or housemates who participate in these activities. In a recovery home, you will be surrounded by others who are taking sobriety seriously. You’ll be surrounded by people who know what you are going through and who are working to stay sober themselves. This can provide you with some of the support and positive influence that you need to stay strong during this trying time.

Enjoy a Safe and Affordable Home

Finding a place to live after leaving rehab isn’t always easy. Recovery homes offer affordable homes that generally include all of your bills, such as your utilities. These reasonable living expenses and this safe home environment can help you get back on your feet.

Help Avoid Temptation

It can be hard to stay away from drugs and alcohol, all of your old friends and all of the places that you used to visit. With a recovery home, you will be restricted with a curfew, and you will be asked to leave if you relapse. This can provide you with the extra kick that you need to avoid possible temptation.

Moving into a recovery home can be a smart decision after leaving rehab if you want to maintain sobriety in the long term. To find out about your options, contact us to begin making a plan for your living arrangements after you seek drug and alcohol treatment.

Also Read: Choosing the Right Sober Living Home

Addiction is a devastating force. Roughly 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 12 suffer from drug or alcohol addiction — and that’s not including those addicted individuals who go uncounted and untreated because their addictions are on the quieter, less visible side. With more and more Americans suffering from it, the question arises, just what is addiction, and how can we best treat it and prevent it?

There are many models of addiction — from the outmoded “You-just-lack-self-control” model to the psychiatric disease model. New evidence, however, is offering us new views of addiction.

Attachment is an all-important part of our psyches and lives — it refers to the way we learn to form relationships and intimacy in early childhood, and the way we carry these early formative experiences into our adult relationships. When we have parents who are loving, consistent, and available, we are more likely to form secure attachments, and be able to form nourishing relationships as adults. However, all too often parents are not there when kids need them. Kiddos need touch, gentle attention, and something called attunement from their caregivers. If, for one reason or another (violence, abuse, neglect, etc.), a child learns that their environment is not safe, or that they can’t get their needs met, this is where things start to get difficult. Many of these people will develop an insecure attachment, and begin to find strategies to dissociate from their pain. Eventually, they will begin looking to other sources to get their needs met.

Some people might turn to food; others to alcohol; others to pills. New research suggests that people turn to these substances to help them meet their deep, gnawing needs for regulation, for companionship, and for love. (For more information, we recommend the book Addiction as an Attachment Disorder)

From this perspective, it becomes clear that true healing and recovery is possible. It also becomes clear that recovery doesn’t just occur in isolation, but that through coming together to share ourselves, our stories, our pain, and our joy, we can support one another in mutual recovery — and perhaps begin to truly feel loved, and begin healing our deepest wounds.

To learn more about the Sober Living Community at Stairway to Freedom, contact us. Our recovery homes in Chicago support residents in building recovery and adjusting to sober life. It’s easier when you have help.

Once you have made it past active addiction, rebuilding a sober life is often a difficult transition. Chicago halfway houses, can help you overcome many of the obstacles you are facing.

Once you are sober, the type of environment you live in truly matters. Returning to a destructive environment, or one that triggers your desire to use, increases chances of relapse, especially during the first year.

Halfway Houses can offer you the supportive environment needed to stay on track. In fact, the National Institutes of Health, conducted a study that suggests those who spent time in a halfway house increased their chances of remaining sober by 57% in the first year. They also found that it improved chances of finding and maintaining employment and reduced psychiatric symptoms.

A change of environment is often a necessity once you are past active addiction. That is because addiction is not just about physical dependence. It also affects the brain’s reward center.

Over time, a person will develop a compulsive need to use a specific drug despite knowing the consequences. When placed among certain social networks, or in an unsupported environment, a person is much more likely to return to their addiction.

In order to overcome both the psychological and physical symptoms of addiction, a safe, structured environment is a must.

Recovering from an addiction takes time and most importantly dedication. With determination and the support you need, sobriety can become a reality. Halfway houses can help you avoid relapse, and help you learn how to rebuild a sober life. For more information contact us.

The need for half-way housing goes beyond providing a substance abuse free environment, just as addiction cannot be summarized as the inability to stop using. Numerous social and personal factors point addicts down a life path over which they do not feel control, and these same factors will affect recovery. Overcoming the disease that is addiction requires a community. This lifts perceived stigma from people in recovery through interaction with others in a similar situation; however, women and men are not the same when it comes to social interaction. There are good reasons why co-ed interactions and relationships between the recently recovering should be discouraged. Women’s sober living is especially important to ensure relapse will not occur.

New relationships can throw recovery off track for the female recovering addict. Her recovery could be taking place during a time in which she is prone to think of starting relationships and a family of her own. More than males, females feel the need for companionship and nurturing on a very basic level. While established and stable relationships can be a source of strength for some, the challenges of new relationships are not easy. Recovery is a time for learning solutions and coping mechanisms that can be used to prevent relapse. Without a recovery focused community women are likely to cave to addictive compulsions when they get into relationships too soon, or develop an unrequited love that challenges coping mechanisms which are not strongly in place. This is why sober living matters.

However there is good news: studies have shown that women have been found less likely to relapse than men due to their willingness to participate in treatment groups. The social aspect of recovery is embraced and not avoided as a necessary chore on the path to recovery. Women can use their natural propensity for socializing and empathizing as a powerful tool in the recovery process. Stairway to Freedom understands the importance of providing a safe place for addiction recovery. It’s a time for growth and discovery, although this process isn’t easy. We provide a strong community of people who are dedicated to the same sober living goals. If you have questions regarding our sober living community, contact Stairway to Freedom in Chicago for a consultation today.