What Is Sober Living?

How Staying Longer in a Sober Living Home Prevents Relapse

Sober living homes require complete abstinence as a rule for remaining a resident. Generally speaking, the longer a person remains abstinent, the lower relapse rates may be. Relapse rates for drug addiction are high, between 40 and 60 percent, NIDA publishes, and sober living homes may help to prevent and minimize relapse with continual peer support and the encouragement to attend 12-Step meetings regularly. These groups also promote complete abstinence. While attending 12-Step meetings may not be mandatory, as San Diego Sober Living, we believe that these meetings are a valuable part of the recovery process.

According a study published by Psychology Today, individuals who remain abstinent for at least a year, have lower relapse rates than those who do not. For example, the study found that individuals who were abstinent for less than a year relapsed two-thirds of the time while those who were sober for an entire year did so less than half the time. Individuals who were abstinent for a period of five years remained sober and avoided relapse 85 percent of the time. If an individual leaves a sober living home prior to being ready to do so, they risk relapse and a return to problematic behaviors. Sober living homes provide a community, as residents all strive for the same goals and face many of the same challenges together. Residents can rely on each other and learn to become part of a group as well as more self-sufficient. Each sober living home may have its own set of rules, chore expectations, and structure in place. Individuals are expected to help with meals, cleaning, and other household chores. While in a sober living home, individuals may be subject to regular drug tests, which may encourage compliance as well.

If you would like more information on the San Diego Sober Living, or any level of treatment, please call us at San Diego Sober Living. We are here to help answer all of the questions you may have.

Personal Addiction Assessment

The following is an objective set of questions that has been medically proven to offer the best assessment for a person’s need for treatment. If you can honestly answer yes to even one question below you may need some guidance. Feel free to give us a call at San Diego Sober Living and we can help you find a sober community, housing, or even a higher level of care.

1. Do you feel that you need a drug (or alcohol) in order to function?
2. Is it hard for you to control your drug use?
3. Is it difficult for you to stay clean for several days at a time?
4. Do you use more than one drug at a time?
5. Have you ever lied about your use of drugs?
6. Do you ever use a drug by yourself?
7. Has your drug use made you isolate yourself from your friends and relatives?
8. Do you hide your drug use from your friends or relatives?
9. Do you use drugs to cope with your feelings or to avoid dealing with the problems in your life?
10. Does your drug use ever cause you to feel guilty, worried, trapped, lonely, sad, depressed, or hopeless about the future?
11. Does your drug use ever make you confused, incoherent, disorganised, disoriented, or cause you some memory loss?
12. Has your drug use caused you problems with motivation or concentration?
13. Does your drug use ever cause you to have difficulty paying attention at work, school, while doing your hobbies, or at home?
14. Does your drug use cause you physical, emotional, psychological, family, social, financial, or legal problems?
15. Have your loved ones ever complained that your drug use is damaging your relationship with them or do they criticise you for your drug use?
16. Do you ever get aggressive when you use a drug?
17. Does your drug use ever cause you to think about self-mutilation or ending your life?
18. Have you ever ended up in the hospital after using drugs?
19. Has anyone ever suggested to you that you go for a consultation to get help for your drug use?
20. Has your doctor ever told you to stop taking your prescribed medication because it could be harmful to you given your use of drugs?