an image of a man writing on a notepad, sober living los angeles, couples sober living, sober living house los angeles
Posted on

What Does Living in a Sober House Mean?

Life after rehab or inpatient treatment can be a little challenging. Just detoxification of some drugs involves the use of tapering. Getting back to your life needs the same principle. In the late 1800s, prisoners in England transitioned from prison life to civilian life with the help of halfway houses. These houses were later used to serve various purposes, for example, to shelter the homeless or use disorder patients.  If you need help transitioning back to the community and your life, you will need to understand what a sober house is, how it works, and how it benefits you. You may also use sober house living if or you need rehab for a while longer as an outpatient. 

What is a Sober House?

sky blue couch with a pillow, sober living los angeles, couples sober living, sober living house los angeles A Sober house is a residence specially designed to host individuals discharged from use disorder inpatient treatment. People often confuse sober houses with halfway houses. Sober houses belong to individuals or private addiction treatment organizations and centers. Halfway houses, on the other hand, are owned by government agencies. Sober houses do not receive any funding from the government, which means you have to pay rent for your stay. You will have access to various programs to help you maintain sobriety. The sober house will equip you with the skills necessary to function as a sober individual. You will be able to learn skills like responsibility, how to compromise accountability, and cooking and cleaning for yourself. Sober house living is also covered under addiction rehab licenses, which makes it possible to offer various programs to help continue with treatment after treatment in an inpatient rehab clinic.

How Does it Work?

You will begin at the intake process, where you are expected to provide adequate information that will be used to support you during this. We will ask for details on your general health, mental health condition, and addiction history. The medical professionals will want to know the last time you used any substance if you are under the care of a physician or have any existing medical conditions.  Treatment consultants in sober houses are always non-judgemental, so you should be straight forward when they ask standard questions such as your education, occupation, and criminal background. Addiction consultants also take part in the intake to help prescribe the right program for your use disorder.

What Does Living in a Sober House Mean?

Living in a sober house means that you will undertake daily operations with house managers overseas. Sober houses have evolved to try and offer the best care for their residence. For example, residences like Riviera Recovery have an entire staff that is ready to assist the residents at any time. They have overnight staff or resident managers who will support you when you face cravings, and your sponsor is unavailable.  Some of the staff may not be medical professionals; however, they are well trained in addiction and recovery. Other sober houses rely on community fellowship for support counseling sessions and daily therapy.

Types of Support Available 

a smiling chef holding a cup, sober living los angeles, couples sober living, sober living house los angeles Most community based sober living Homes focus on peer recovery and support. They help establish these bonds through wellness classes outdoor excursions group therapy and 12-step meetings to stop sober houses highly recommend 12 step meetings as they have a high recovery success rate.  The use of group therapy helps residents find solutions for anxiety loss stress from addiction to depression and more. Individuals will feel less lonely when they exchange experiences and relate to what the members are going through. It helps to increase a sense of understanding, empathy, patience, support, and more, which will benefit the community as a whole. The availability of support is important in a sober house. It is a criterion you should consider when selecting which sober house to go to.

Day to Day Life in a Sober House

Rules routine and structure will have a significant impact on your sobriety. They will help you reduce seclusion feelings and outside influences that may trigger a relapse. A healthy routine will not only help with addiction treatment, but it is also used to help with mental health illnesses. The routine in a sober house will include choosing house activities or group activities. There are those residences that the residents attend a school or go to work. This is an outpatient treatment program for such facilities.  Typical activities in a sober house routine include 12-step meetings and house activities such as yoga adventure therapy or holistic treatment. Most residences have a strict visitor policy and a curfew which the residents must abide by. All the treatments and activities you partake in have proven to have a positive effect on the body mind and spirit of residents. There is also a significant emphasis on sobriety healing and self-care as they are recurring aspects of your daily life, even outside the sober house. These activities and routines prepare you for believing when you leave.

How Successful Are Sober Houses?

The biological components make it hard to maintain sobriety after a chemical dependency, but Sober Houses have high success rates. The success depends on the period you stay at the Residence. Most people spend 3 to 6 months in the facility. However, you have an increased chance of sobriety if you visit longer, especially if you have been struggling with use disorder for years. This gives your brain ample time to reset itself.  During this time, you will deal with emotional problems and their underlying causes. Time is also necessary for those struggling with mental illnesses such as depression who are chief stability. The strict house rules and peaceful environment help you to stay sober. There will be random drug tests that will discourage you from relapse.

Riviera Recovery Sober Living

The Riviera recovery sober house helps you in sobriety general wellness and independence. Our health community offers multiple services, including referrals to other outpatient programs, weekly social activities, nightly check-ins, personal trainers, 12-step meetings, food management, random drug testing, and more.  We are a team of medical professionals and non-medical professionals trained with Addiction and recovery. Our organization has two main facilities; the Palisades house and the Barrington house. They are equipped with amenities such as housekeeping private security suites, self-help library weekly family updates participation in outpatient programs weekly mentoring, and more.  a person lying on a sofa while reading a book, sober living los angeles, couples sober living, sober living house los angeles The Palisades House overlooks the Pacific Ocean from the foot of the Santa Monica mountains. You have access to various activities within the local eating places like Malibu Pacific palisades and Santa Monica. Contact us to start rehab today at this high-end facility for long-term sobriety. The Barrington house residence is an all-male location that has access to a couple of Parks and shops within walking distance. It is located in West La with easy access to Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. We offer a thriving 12-step program with daily meetings.

Final Thoughts

You can get help to help you lead a sober life in Sober houses. A sober house is a residential facility that enables you to transition back into your life after rehab. You will participate in Multiple activities to help you gain sobriety skills. Such activities include outdoor excursions group therapy, individual therapy 12-step meetings, and more. Sober houses have a high success rate, which makes them trust me.  You can start sober living today in a top facility like Riviera recovery, which is run by medical professionals who know how to handle transition. You may expect to stay in this residence for 3 to 6 months. However, the longer you stay, the better chances you have to lead a sober life over a long time.
Protected by Copyscape
Posted on

LA Sober Living Lifestyle

Many people new to recovery wonder what life will be like now that they are living a clean and sober lifestyle. Sober living is often a next step for people who have completed a treatment program. What will a sober living lifestyle be like for you?

Building a Recovery Foundation

Lasting sobriety is the top goal for everyone new to recovery. Building a foundation, of course, is what strengthens your sobriety on the way. One of the first steps to building this foundation is creating a healthy, safe support system. Going to 12-step meetings in the LA area, attending any therapy and work, family, and friendship-related commitments are also important. You’ll learn a lot about time management while you’re in sober living in Los Angeles, among others in recovery. You’ll also be able to meet some great people at meetings and build out your support network. A sponsor, sober friendships, and new hobbies and interests can help you create a healthy support system to fall back on. You’re never alone in recovery. A sober living arrangement can help you develop lasting friendships and live in a structured, safe environment where everyone is working towards the same goals. You’ll also learn more about how to maintain healthy relationships, taking responsibility for your behavior and obligations. Living with others who are in sobriety can help you build strong bonds and build confidence. A recent study on sober living programs revealed that long-term outcomes of recovering alcoholics/addicts who participate in these programs are more likely to achieve lasting sobriety/clean time. Transitioning to a reside in a local LA sober living environment is a powerful way to commit to your long-term sobriety and forge new bonds as you build confidence and a foundation for your life after treatment.

Building a Life in Recovery While in LA Sober Living

Stay sober will always be your top priority, no matter what is going on in life. As you begin living a life substance-free, you’re going to grow and change. Preoccupation with getting and using your substance of choice often got in the way with living a fulfilling life. Once you have been sober for a while, you’ll find that there’s a lot of time for fun, relaxation, and reflection in your life. Living in the Los Angeles area provides a lot of opportunities for these things during your “me” time. Some outings will be done with others in the program and the companionship of a chaperone. You’ll bond with your fellow house-mates and make new friends. You might even discover that you find new, healthy activities that you join and interests to pursue. You’re in a perfect location to explore your surroundings and find new passions and return to a safe and supportive home aftwewards. Some of the activities that clients enjoy in Riviera Recovery’s Los Angeles location include:
  • Swimming
  • Meditating
  • Spending time with pets (live-in pets allowed)
  • Running
  • Jogging
  • Gyms
  • Cooking
  • Playing an Organized Sport (such as baseball or soccer)
  • Surfing
  • Running
  • Hiking
  • Meditation
  • Attending Local University Classes (Santa Monica College and UCLA)
Our Western LA Sober Living home is a great place to build your foundation in recovery.  You’ll be in a living situation where everyone is working towards a goal. You’ll have the guidance from a trained staff that wants to help you move forward. Transportation is provided for most outings. Your aftercare treatment will be coordinated with other professionals you see. For example, we may keep in touch with your doctors, therapist, or psychiatrist. If your family is part of your treatment plan, we may talk to them sometimes as well. While you’re working your program, you’ll still have rules and structure in your life. But you’ll also learn to be comfortable in your own skin and learn to enjoy the freedom that a life in recovery provides for you. You can explore your hobbies and passions.

Building a Strong, Sober Life

Living in a sober home can help you build a fulfilling, inspired lifestyle. At both our Malibu and West LA sober living homes, there are amenities and opportunities to learn more about yourself. Transportation is available to 12-step meetings, scheduled activities and appointments. Sober living allows you to build a lifestyle in a home that has structure but also helps move you towards freedom. You’ll have responsibilities, but you’ll also be in a place that’s comforting. You’re in a home away from home and with awesome weather with beautiful places to explore, hike. There is also a vibrant, artistic vibe Life after drugs is a different type of life. A life of purpose and fulfillment awaits if you’re ready to put the work in. Getting sober and working a recovery program can help you approach life differently. Early recovery is a great time to begin confronting your issues. It’s also a great time learn how to work, play, and live a lifestyle that brings you inspiration.

Want to Learn More?

If you or somebody you love, a client or a friend, are looking for sober living options, we’re here to help. Find a peaceful place to live and grow. Get in touch at 1-855-207-2798 to learn more about sober homes in Western Los Angeles, Malibu/Palisades.  
Posted on

An Important Tool: The Recovery Compass Workbook

In recovery, you are always working on improving yourself and your life. Sometimes it’s not easy, but it’s still worth it. Research shows that it takes about 20 to 30 days to establish a new physical or emotional habit. In recovery, you’re learning all the time. It can feel overwhelming at first to get your bearings as a newly sober person. That’s why we provide you with a Recovery Compass as a tool to help you along the way. The Recovery Compass workbook was created as a guide to help you navigate your way through early recovery. The book enables you to schedule your time, create and achieve goals, and learn more about living a healthy, satisfying life without the use of alcohol or drugs.

How the Recovery Compass Workbook Works

The Recovery Compass is a guidebook that helps you learn more about what to expect as you acclimate yourself to living in recovery and sober living. Your time at Riviera Recovery can help you grow, heal, and begin the work that will help you stay substance-free for life. How you spend that time is essential. You’ll have structure, meetings, and support throughout the journey. The Recovery Compass workbook is a tool that’s unique to our sober living program. A staff mentor will be your partner in this journey as you make your way through the exercises in your workbook. If you have questions, need motivation, or need to talk to somebody about your recovery, your staff mentor can help you. The workbook can help you focus, learn new life skills, and learn about what makes you happy and what you want to do with your life when you’ve graduated. You’re never “alone” when you’re in recovery, and you’re not limited to what you learn while using the book.

Living With Purpose

Living with purpose means finding inspiration, direction and working toward new goals. Goals can be short-term or long-term. Having these goals is a great thing! However, when you’re new to recovery, living life one day at a time is crucial. Short-term goals help you concentrate on what you want to get done every day. Longer-term goals help you look forward to the future and truly work toward what you want most in life. Your first goal should always be to maintain your recovery. Don’t drink or use drugs! Many of your daily tasks will revolve around this goal. Attending 12-step meetings, connecting with your sponsor, and meeting other commitments will help you build on your recovery. Other goals you create may be new or goals that got interrupted. Many people take time to pursue new career goals,  continue their education, and learn other new skills once they feel secure in their recovery.

Becoming a Better You in Recovery!

The workbook that you receive will also take you through some exploratory exercises. It’s hard to think of the future if you’re sitting around feeling inadequate. Recovery can lift you out of the guilt, shame, and pain of addiction. You’re taking action by staying sober and working on becoming a better person – a better YOU! – every day. You’ll learn how to plan your finances, work on relationships with family or friends, and become responsible for your actions in recovery. Doing groundwork like the exercises in the Compass Workbook will help you learn more about yourself and set a trajectory for your life after drugs and alcohol. Every day you stay sober is another day that you can take time to work on yourself. There’s no way that you can “fix” everything about yourself overnight. It’s okay to take some parts of your recovery in “baby steps.” Know what those steps are, and approaching them with the right attitude and a spirit of acceptance can help you achieve new things in your life. Not sure what your next step is? Ask your staff mentor or your sponsor for help.

Finding Happiness and Passions

Recovery is in no way limited to hard work, therapy, and meetings. When you’re feeling more stable in your recovery, you may find yourself antsy. Even with your scheduled recovery program, you’ll probably find you have a lot of time on your hands. How you use your time at Riviera Recovery is essential. There are some goals you must meet to continue to the next phase of the program and earn new privileges. Getting out and about, learning self-care and taking time to exercise are all ways you can enjoy your downtime. Clients of Riviera Recovery love to go to the gym, get some surfing time, and to participate in relaxation like yoga and meditation.  Exploring what makes you happy, learning new hobbies, and pursuing new interests along with your goals are hallmarks of living a healthy, substance-free life.

Structure and Time Management

  Time management is one new way to maintain focus in your life. When you were using substances, you probably had trouble sticking to a schedule. After all, cravings seem to have a plan of their own. There were perhaps days, weeks, or months lost to using your drug of choice. Addiction does this to people. You’re not alone in this. As a disease, addiction is powerful and insidious. It captures and hijacks your goals, causing you to deprioritize things that once were important. It generally makes it impossible to stick to things you’d promised yourself you’d get done. And there are few goals that you can achieve while you’re feeling trapped in a vicious cycle. Now that you’re sober, there’s a lot of time on your hands. But that doesn’t mean you’re left to your own devices. Recovery requires structure. Sticking to your recovery goals, meetings, and appointments is vital to setting a foundation that can help you throughout life. Knowing what time you plan on doing things can also give you something to look forward to every day. You don’t have to deal with fear of the unknown. Being able to plan, prepare, and show up for things when you say you will can help you build character and self-esteem.

Interested in Sober Living?

Riviera Recovery presents a great opportunity for people in early recovery to continue to build their foundation, learn to live a fulfilling life, and begin living responsibly in the “regular world”. Are you looking for a place to land after treatment? Or simply want to explore your sober living options? We have homes in West LA and Palisades/Malibu that offer time and space to grow. Give us a call at 1-855-207-2798 to learn more about your options.  
Posted on

Why Naloxone Should Be a Part of Your Relapse Prevention Plan

There are two fundamental questions that bear answering in exploring this topic: “What is Naloxone?”, and “What is relapse prevention?” If you have been around those in recovery, been to treatment or have ever experienced a non-lethal overdose, you are likely familiar with these concepts. 

What is Naloxone?

Put plainly, Naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan or Evzio, is an FDA-approved medication introduced in the early 2000’s that reverses opioid overdoses. Packaged either as a nasal spray or auto-injectable, advances in technology and litigation have gotten this so-called “miracle drug” into the hands of lay people (friends and family of those who struggle with addiction) who in some studies, claimed to have successfully reversed 25,000 opioid overdoses in the eighteen years between 1996 and 2014.  Naloxone works by restoring breathing to individuals experiencing the depressive effects of high doses of opioids, where breathing slows, and lack of oxygen to the brain causes the body’s organs to begin shutting down. Through a process of binding to the opioid receptors, thus blocking the further effects of any other dosage, naloxone provides individuals with a 30 to 90 minute window of time where they are able to receive further emergency treatment.  Naloxone is now readily available at all major pharmacies, and the associated education of learning to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose takes only about five to ten minutes. Both of these figures contributes to the widespread success of this product, and explain the importance of including naloxone distribution and education to close family members and friends as a vital aspect of your relapse prevention plan. 

What is a Relapse Prevention Plan?

This brings us to the second important question of the post: what is the purpose of a relapse prevention plan? In essence, it is the aim of verbalizing or drafting a plan to avoid relapse; to be fully prepared for future cravings, or when facing triggering situations. A good relapse prevention plan will help you to identify your triggers ahead of time, remind you of healthy coping skills to employ, as well as contain a list of supportive people that you can call when in need. Not only should it focus on people or places important to avoid, it should also help to define what you are like when you are “well”, and the self-care maintenance practices to use on a daily or weekly basis that will help to keep you there.  While a large portion of the plan may require individual motivation and effort, the participation and education of close family and friends of the best ways to support you in your recovery journey should not be overlooked. Teaching them communication strategies to help point you in the right direction, giving them permission to help keep you accountable, and arming them with a life-saving tool like naloxone are key aspects of setting yourself up for success in recovery.  This is just a brief overview of the key contents of a relapse prevention plan, and far from conclusive. For further information and assistance in your recovery journey, consult one of our admissions specialists today!
Posted on

What to Expect After Rehab for Alcoholism

You’ve made an important decision to quit drinking. You entered a 30, 60 or even 90-day program and have successfully completed treatment.  You’re uncertain about what to expect after rehab for alcoholism, so what comes next?

Upon graduating from a residential treatment program for alcoholism you have a couple of options.

You can return home, with the tools you gained during rehab, or you can temporarily move into a sober living home. The purpose of a sober living home is to be in a safe sober environment, around like minded individuals, while you start to put the tools you learned in rehab into practical use. A sober home allows you to come and go as needed for work, school or appointments, but with more structure than living at home. Most sober living homes have a curfew and a live in house manager, as well as shared chores and other responsibilities. Many people find a lack of structure to be a relapse trigger in early sobriety, so moving into a transitional home is very common after rehab.

Life after rehab will be full of learning experiences.

You’ll probably leave treatment with a packet of resources, as well as an aftercare program designed by you and your counselor. Make sure you know what your days and weeks will look like following rehab. Having a set schedule will keep you focused and on track.

Life after alcohol rehab may include, but is not limited to:

  • Weekly outpatient groups
  • 12 step meetings
  • Counseling appointments
  • Sponsor check ins
  • Job search activities

One of the most important things to be mindful of after you leave rehab are your triggers.

Make sure you have a relapse prevention plan and a phone list of people to call if you get in a bind. Alcoholism is tricky, and triggers can come at the least expected time.

Communication is imperative to a comfortable transition after returning home from rehab.

Talk to your loved ones ahead of time about what is expected of each other and what your immediate needs are. If you’re returning to a high stress job, communicate with your boss about required post rehab meetings and other sobriety related appointments. If you don’t put your recovery first you run the risk of slipping into old behavior that can cause triggers and relapse.

Stay active in your recovery and find a fellowship of other sober people who know what you’re going through.

Life after rehab for alcoholism will be very different than the life you’re used to. In early recovery you may have feelings of restlessness and irritability. You may be walking through challenging situations that the people around you who do not have a substance abuse disorder won’t understand. There are thousands of 12 step meetings nationwide, so there are bound to be a few in your area. Get active in the sobriety community and stay connected. These meetings are a great place to meet other people in recovery and start doing things outside of meetings that don’t include alcohol. With determination and a solid aftercare plan, your outlook on what to expect after rehab for alcoholism will be undaunted! We invite you to call Riviera Recovery today for a free confidential assessment, and to learn more about sober living & individualized recovery counseling: 310-872-1908