Sober Living Chicago
The decision to get sober is one that can be made quickly. Staying clean and sober however is a time-consuming process that requires an honest commitment and significant work. Recovery is indisputably a life-long journey.
Once an addict has completed a treatment program, which frequently involves going inpatient for one to six months or maybe more, one of their next goals is following the relapse prevention plan they developed with their counselor in treatment. Preventing relapse and achieving this particular goal can be an uphill battle if they do not take it seriously and adhere to the rules established to reduce opportunity for temptations to creep in and steal their sobriety.
Every addict has differing scenarios that they identify as high risk for their recovery. However there is a common, underlying theme of changing “people, places and things,” which were familiar to the individual during their active addiction. As they prepare to leave treatment, where they have been safely secluded from past allures of drugs and alcohol, as well as stressors of daily life in the outside world, they must make their first big decision in sobriety. This is where are they going to live?
Chicago halfway houses can help to remove some basic risk factors associated with returning to their old residence in that familiar neighborhood where they are surrounded by friends who drink and they know exactly who to call and where to go to get drugs. This is one reason substance abuse counselors often recommend considering moving into a Halfway House as a transition from treatment to real life in order to help prevent relapse.
This transition phase is critical to relapse prevention as a recovery home offers a degree of protection from outside temptations, as well as structure, support and a safe place to call “home,” if only for a few months. Some recovering addicts embrace this option as they have invested significant time and rigorous work in healing themselves during treatment and honestly know what going home right now will do to their life. Yet others do not have a “home” to go and they view a halfway house as continuing treatment to help them help themselves.
If you want to learn more about how Chicago halfway houses can help prevent relapse, please contact us today.