How Long Should You Stay in a Sober Living Home?

When you stay in a sober living home, you are typically there voluntarily. While your prior addiction treatment program may have suggested a recommended amount of time to attend sober living, it’s eventually up to you how long you stay.

There is no limited amount of time as to how long you can reside in a sobriety house. The amount of time should be based on your individual needs. As long as you feel like a sobriety home is helping you, you can keep staying there.

What is a Sober Living Home?

A sober living home (aka sobriety house) is frequently used as the connection between treatment and independent living. It’s a place for individuals who have a high risk of relapse after leaving rehab, providing a sober atmosphere as they work on re-entering society.

Even though some people may complete rehab and detox, they just aren’t ready to make a total transition back into daily life. They fear relapse or believe it best to continue treatment. Either way, a sober living home provides a vital foundation.

Sober living homes offer a supportive network for those not ready to deal with daily stress. They also help people who need more time fine-tuning the self-sufficiency and communication skills learned in rehab. Sober living homes offer an environment that provides you with more freedom than treatment, but you still have restrictions. 

Going to a Sober Living Home After Rehab

A sober living home is the best place for you to live after rehab, especially if you want a setting in which you’ll feel safe and comfortable. Sadly, many individuals leave rehab and don’t have a positive situation to return to when they are done with treatment. 

They might not have a safe living environment. They might not even have a job. A sober living home can make the move from rehab to the outside world easy. 

Furthermore, when residents ultimately do decide to leave their sober living home, they receive a huge amount of support in the process. Sober living ensures that their residents have a support team, job placement assistance, comfortable housing, and a detailed plan for their future. 

Many residents stay in contact with their sober living home and support group for several years afterwards whether to give an update on their lives or to just say hello. 

Expectations and Rules at a Sober Living Home

Even though sober living housing provides more freedom than treatment, there are still expectations and rules you must typically follow. These include:

• Clean up after yourself
• Do assigned tasks and chores
• No drugs or alcohol
• Attend house meetings
• Obey curfew

Getting the Most from Living in a Sober Living Home

Crucial things to do while in sober living include:

• Learn all you can from other residents in your sobriety house. Their experiences will be of tremendous help to you.
• Try to save as much money as you can to help you when you leave. 
• Try to stay connected to your sober community after you leave.
• Make a schedule to follow outside of sober living.
• Learn skills, like cooking and cleaning, to help you take care of yourself when you’re on your own. 
• Develop your interpersonal skills. They will play a vital part when you look for employment and at your workplace (after you get a job).

How a Stay in a Sober Living Home Can Help with Recovery 

Being a sobriety home resident offers you the opportunity to work on your recovery and get used to being in the world. Being around people who are empathetic, supportive, and compassionate helps you be encouraged and accountable on the road to recovery.

You also have more individuals to go to when you feel you might relapse or meet with triggers. After treatment, a sober living home gives you a chance to adapt to being part of society again. Entering society means: 

• Making sure you go to work  
• Being responsible for managing your money to pay your bills
• Keeping your sobriety

This can be overpowering when you are doing it by yourself. Living in a sobriety home helps keep you responsible for both your recovery and your new world obligations.

• After completing your treatment, many individuals will attempt to come back into your life. A sober living home provides a safe place to talk to these people and avoid those that could harm your sobriety. If you must return to that atmosphere, it could be difficult to stay away from the individuals you were close with while you were using drugs and/or alcohol. Ultimately, the more difficult your journey to sobriety is, the longer your stay at a sober living home should be. 

Each case is going to be unique as each person has distinctive needs. However, typically a person stays at a sober living home for a minimum of three months. Some of the things that could extend a person’s stay at a sober living home are:

• Rate of process
• Previous relapses
• The severity of addiction
• Personal needs
• Possessing other health conditions or mental health disorders
• Failed attempts at recovery
• The presence of other mental health disorders or health conditions. 

It’s not usual to contemplate how long you should remain at a sober living home, specifically if this is your first time in recovery. However, instead of thinking about the length of your stay, it’s more vital to take note of all the assistance you’re getting and how this help is impacting your life in recovery.

Peer support is always critical for recovery, but the initial weeks, months, and years of sobriety are usually the most vulnerable. Residing at a sobriety home during this time will let you form a solid support system in recovery, acquire strength in sobriety, adopt new routines and habits that will support your sobriety, and stop a relapse.

Living at a sobriety home for several months or years doesn’t mean you’re a failure or less capable than your peers who might have left before you. Addiction recovery is an extremely personal process and everyone’s road to recovery is an individualized experience that must evolve in its own time.

When Should You Leave a Sober Living Home

If you feel like you may be ready to leave your sober living home and move to a more independent living situation, your support team can talk with you and help you decide if you’re ready to take the next step. 

If you and your recovery coaches decide that you’re ready to live on your own, they can assist you with organizing your move, making sure that it is a successful, confident, and encouraging step for your sobriety. A few signs that you could be ready to leave your sobriety home are:

• You have stayed sober for an adequate amount of time. You have sustained your sobriety, and you feel able and ready to deal with triggers, temptations, and cravings.
• You have a safe, supportive, and sober, safe place to reside after you leave. You plan to move to a place with a sober family or friend. You also are financially able and prepared to live on your own. Your living situation has been confirmed and you are ready to take the next step. 
• You are positive in your ability to deal with or avoid a relapse. When you think about leaving your sober living house, you don’t feel nervous. You’re confident that you will be able to handle the stressors and hardships of everyday living without relapsing. If you do relapse, you know how you’ll manage it and who you will call right away. 
• You have a schedule of how you’ll spend your day. Your plan is to attend school, work a full-time or part-time job, or participate in activities that are helpful for your recovery goals. 
• You have agreed to continued treatment. You are registered in some sort of aftercare program, and you have agreed to attend local 12-step meetings and/or go to therapy.
• You have goals for your continuing recovery. You realize that your road to recovery is far from over and you have short-term and long-term objectives for your sobriety that you believe will enrich your life and recovery in constructive ways.
• You have formed a powerful support system of sober individuals. You have a sober coach or sponsor, you have fostered healthy relationships with sober peers, and you’re devoted to increasing your support circle as you carry on with your treatment.

Structured and Safe Sober Living Homes in the Denver, Colorado Area 

If you’re looking for a structured and safe sobriety house in Denver, contact Elevate to learn about our services and schedule a tour. We work with our residents to develop a life blueprint (“Elevation Plan”) that they can carry with them into the future.