Tag: sober living Massachusetts

Man Thinking About Alternatives for Alcohol and Drugs While Stressed

Alternatives to Drugs and Alcohol for Stressful Times

Experiencing stress can be a trigger for the consumption of alcohol and drugs. For former addicts, stress can contribute to a relapse of alcohol or drug abuse. Since many substances can give you temporary relief of the negative effects of stress, it may be tempting for former addicts to return to using these substances again. In order to be able to maintain your sobriety during stressful times in your life, it is crucial to learn to cope with stress without using alcohol or drugs.

Identify What You Can and Cannot Control

One of the first steps to coping with stress is to identify the source of your stress. From there, you can begin to identify what aspects of it you can and cannot control. For example, during this nationwide pandemic due to COVID-19, you may not be able to control whether or not you contract the virus—but you can control the steps that you take to protect yourself.

Make Time in Your Day to Do Something You Enjoy

Distraction can be a powerful tool in managing stress. During stressful times in your life, make sure to take time for yourself and engage in an activity that you enjoy. Having a happy experience may help alleviate some of the stress you are experiencing. At worst, it may provide a welcome distraction.

Participate in Physical Activity

Another way to cope with stress is to do a physical activity. One example would be to go for a run, as physical activities can release endorphins, which make you feel better. Staying physically active also has many health benefits—not only for your physical health but also for your emotional and mental health.

Sober living homes can provide structure for former addicts who are working hard to maintain their sobriety. These facilities can also help their residents by providing the tools to cope with stress in other ways. Contact the Tharros House today to learn more about how sober living homes may benefit you.

Sober Woman Exercising Boston Massachusetts

How Do I Stay Sober?

For people who have recognized that they are suffering from an addiction, one of the first questions they may have is to ask for advice on how to remain sober. Fortunately, there is a lot of help out there for someone who is going through the addiction recovery process.

Focus on Your Health

One of the ways that someone can work on maintaining sobriety is by getting and staying healthy. As you recover from addiction, it is crucial to focus on your health by eating nutritious and well-balanced meals. It is also important to start exercising, which has many physical health benefits. Exercise also releases endorphins and helps with developing mental clarity. Being physically active also helps you to restore a sense of balance in your life, which is important at this stage of recovery.

Make Necessary Life Changes

Another way to help maintain your sobriety is to make certain necessary changes in your life to better facilitate recovery. It is often necessary to cut ties with individuals who helped to encourage your addiction or anyone that is negatively impacting your life. It does not mean that you need to end these relationships forever—but it is often helpful to take a step back from these relationships and focus on your relationships with people who are helping you maintain your sobriety.

An additional necessary life change is to avoid the locations where you used to partake in your addiction. For example, if you are recovering from an addiction to alcohol, you will probably want to avoid going out to bars or other locations where alcohol is present, and people around you will be drinking.

Develop a Structured Lifestyle

Incorporating more structure into your life is a good way to help stay sober. One way to include more structure in your life is to consider a sober living home, which provides structure for its residents. Contact us today to learn more about the structure that the Tharros House provides.

Women breathing for sober living in Boston Massachusetts

Breathing Exercise for Stressful Times

One way to manage high stress levels is to learn to perform breathing exercises. When you start to feel stress, you can engage in breathing exercises to help calm yourself down. This is a great stress-relieving method because anyone can do it at any time. It is particularly useful for people recovering from addiction because it does not involve the use of any other substances. It is a safe practice that has many benefits—reducing stress, introducing calmness, along with other benefits.

Deep Breathing to Relieve Stress

Normally when we breathe, we take in short breaths and inhale and exhale without even thinking about it. Taking deeper breaths and focusing on what you are doing as you breathe can help you calm down and relieve your stress.

To do this, simply breathe in deeply through your nose paying attention to your body as you do so. Then, breathe out of your nose slowly, and picture yourself releasing stress as the air leaves your body. Do this several times until you start to feel less stressed out.

How to Focus on Breathing

For some people, it may be difficult to get themselves to focus on their breathing. These tips can help. Start by closing your eyes and sit in a comfortable position. Try to clear your mind and focus only on breathing in and out. You can also try to picture yourself breathing in calmness and breathing out tension and stress. Another technique is to slowly count to five as you breathe in through your nose, and slowly count to five again as you exhale.

Using breathing exercises to manage your stress is a simple way to reduce your stress levels. For those recovering from addiction, this is a safe and easy method for lessening the stress they are dealing with.

living with addiction wall in Boston Massachusetts

Living with Addiction

Living with addiction is not easy, as anyone in this position already knows. The hardest part about dealing with an addiction is admitting to yourself that you have an addiction, and you are ready to seek help. The good news is that once you have accomplished that, then the hardest part is already behind you.

Exploring Addiction Treatment Options

Once you have decided to get sober, the next step is to decide what type of addiction treatment is right for you. There are many different addiction treatment options, including behavioral counseling, medication, and sober living homes. One or more of these options may be helpful to your recovery.

Behavioral Counseling

Behavioral counseling can be beneficial for those trying to recover from addiction. You can choose from individual, family, or group counseling. This type of counseling can help you to identify the root causes of your addiction. You can also learn healthier coping skills and how to repair broken relationships that were impacted by your addiction.

Medication

Your doctor may recommend certain medications to help you with recovery. Medication may be used to help you manage your withdrawal symptoms and to help prevent relapse. You may also be prescribed medication to help treat any underlying mental health conditions you may have, such as anxiety or depression.

Sober Living Homes

Another treatment option is to move into a sober living home. Sober living homes are generally for those who are further along in their recovery and are seeking a safe place to continue with their sobriety among others who are in a similar place in life. Sober living homes can offer group meetings and activities that can help take your mind off of the difficulties of living with your addiction. You can also meet and make close friends at these sober living home events, which will also benefit your recovery.

Contact us today at The Tharros House for more information regarding our sober living home.

Cactus at sober living home in Boston Massachusetts

Sober Living in Massachusetts

Making a commitment to sober living will change your life for the better. If you have committed to sober living in Massachusetts, you should consider living in a sober living home. Sober living homes have many benefits, including the benefit of residing with other people who are working to recover from addiction in an environment free of alcohol and other addictive substances.

The Tharros House in Massachusetts

The Tharros House in Massachusetts is a sober living home where residents live with other people at the same stage of sobriety. There are many benefits to choosing the Tharros House. It is a smaller community, with eleven clients living there at a time. This sober home also offers a large variety of activities for its residents. These activities include a weekly activity, such as bowling or cooking.

Tharros House also encourages its residents to participate in the weekly Saturday group activity. The Saturday group activities vary but may include participating in an escape room, riding Go-karts, or even sailing. There are also many other activities that the residents at Tharros House partake in. Events like a weekly BBQ for residents, yoga classes, and ping pong tournaments. These activities help the residents of the Tharros House build strong, lasting bonds with one another, as well as improve their health through nutrition and exercise.

Addiction Recovery Support at the Tharros House

In addition to these activities, Tharros House assigns each resident a case manager to help them on their journey to full recovery from addiction. The residents living at Tharros House are asked to meet with their case manager at least once a week. In addition, residents are also asked to participate in morning meetings, which are scheduled during the week (Monday through Friday). There is also a Sunday evening meeting each week at 6 PM that the residents of Tharros House are asked to attend.

sober community group in Boston Massachusetts with love hand gestures

Being Part of a Sober Community

A sober community provides great benefits for someone recovering from addiction. Many addicts have tried on multiple occasions to overcome their addictions on their own and are often unsuccessful. In a sober community, a recovering addict is provided with the necessary support to achieve success in long-term sobriety.

What Is a Sober Community?

A sober community is a group of people who are in the same stage in their recovery process and are working towards re-acclimating into society. Before going back into their regular routines in life, many recovering addicts choose to live in a sober community, where they can count on others around them to be sober.

Benefits of Choosing to Live in a Sober Community

Beyond just being surrounded by sober individuals, a recovering addict can take advantage of many other benefits of living in a sober community. These benefits include support groups and meetings on site, as well as group activities such as cooking classes or mock job interviews that teach and reinforce positive life skills. There are also often fun group events, such as BBQs and bowling nights.

Another significant benefit of living in a sober community is long-lasting friendships and mentor relationships. Since a recovering addict will be living with other recovering addicts who may have similar life experiences, he or she will be able to create close bonds. With close bonds and deep friendships, recovering addicts can help each other stay strong as they continue in recovery. It can help to have someone by your side who understands your struggles and what you are going through.

The Tharros House is a sober community for men in the state of Massachusetts. Contact us today to learn more about the benefits of living in a sober community home, and to find out if the Tharros House is right for you as you work towards conquering your addiction.

Bananas for Sober Living in Boston Massachusetts

Nourishing Your Body During Recovery

Recovering from addiction can be a difficult process. While it is always worth it in the end, your body may need some time to adjust to the changes that sobriety brings. It is important to nourish your body throughout the recovery process. This includes eating healthy foods that can help restore nutrients in your body.

Three Foods to Eat for Nourishment During Recovery

Bananas – One of the best foods to eat while in recovery from addiction to alcohol or other substances is bananas. This is because people who have abused alcohol or drugs in the recent past tend to be low on magnesium and potassium. These are electrolytes which help to regulate your blood pressure, muscles, nerves, and heartbeat. When you have electrolyte deficiencies, you can experience weakness, muscle cramps, and fatigue. Bananas are a great source of both magnesium and potassium and can help you replenish your electrolytes.

Broccoli – Broccoli is another food that can help nourish your body while you recover from your addiction. Many years of substance abuse can cause lasting damage to your liver. In order to obtain maximum nutritional benefits from the food you eat, you need to have a liver that is functioning optimally. Broccoli is a food that can help cleanse and repair your liver.

Potatoes – Another great food to consume for extra nourishment throughout your path to recovery is potatoes. Potatoes are a good source for complex carbohydrates, which can help a recovering alcoholic escape the cycle of soaring and crashing blood sugar that they were used to experiencing while drinking excessively. Potatoes are also full of fiber and other nutrients and can help you fight off cravings.

While you are recovering from addiction, it is important to make sure that your body is being nourished and that you are receiving proper nutrition for your body to begin healing. Sober living homes are also helpful during recovery. Contact us at Tharros House to find out more about what we offer.

tips for keeping a sober home in Boston Massachusetts

Keeping a Sober Home

Once you have completed a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, the next steps in your recovery include developing new life skills. You will need to make some changes in your lifestyle in order to remain free from drugs or alcohol. Below, you will find four ways to help you keep a sober home.

Practice Self-Care

One of the main reasons for emotional relapse is failing to practice self-care. In your own home or in a sober living home, you will need to learn to take care of yourself by getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and learning and using coping strategies to overcome any negative thoughts and feelings.

Keeping a Clean Living Space

When you are living with other people, whether it is in a sober living home or with family or other roommates, you will face various obstacles as personalities differ. As you learn to keep your living environment clean, you will also learn the importance of being respectful of others around you and thinking about their wants and needs when you make decisions that affect your home.

Managing Your Finances

Another major life skill necessary for recovery is to manage your finances. During the time you suffered from addiction, you may have allocated a significant amount of your money toward fueling your addiction. Now that you are in recovery, you will need to make a new budget. Residing in a sober living home can give you the chance to practice saving and budgeting; Tharros offers an optional budgeting component where clients can develop important money management skills.

Cooking Healthy Meals

It is important to make healthy food choices. You will benefit from learning how to cook healthy meals and shop for groceries, as well as prepare your own meals.  At Tharros, we offer a variety of cooking instruction and community cooking nights, led by experienced and talented chefs.

The Tharros House is a sober living facility that provides its residents with recovery support, including helping residents learn to practice self-care. Residents can also learn to cook healthy meals, manage their finances, and keep their residence clean—all life skills that help with recovery.

Bride to addiction treatment Boston Massachusetts

Three Alternative Addiction Treatments

Emotional Freedom Techniques

Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT, involves using your fingertips to tap on a sequences of body areas which are related to acupressure points.  It is an energy psychology technique with the purpose of balancing you “energetically” and also benefits you by freeing up areas of blocked energy.  EFT is used to help work on the underlying causes of a person’s addiction and is believed to help an addict cope more efficiently with their cravings.

Mindfulness-Based Therapies—Yoga

Mindfulness-based therapies can be useful in that they help an addict increase awareness and give them the tools to reconnect with themselves in order to have a better understanding of the way their addictions play out in their lives.  This type of therapy can help addicts better respond to stressors in their lives.  An addict can learn to practice mindfulness by learning to be more present in their own daily life.  Another way to practice mindfulness is formal meditation.

Equine Therapy

Equine-assisted therapy involves assistance by a licensed mental health professional along with an equine specialist.  It is not required for you to have the knowledge and experience of riding a horse, since the activities you will partake in are performed on the ground.  You may be encouraged to participate in activities which are directly connected to taking care of the horse, or you may focus on more structured activities which are done in order to help you address therapeutic issues.

By developing your relationship with the horse, you will better understand how you relate to yourself and to others, since this relationship with the horse will mirror your own relationships.  Throughout the process of equine therapy, your therapist will help you to identify patterns that fuel your addiction.  You will also learn to practice new ways of feeling, behaving, and thinking.

Tharros House

The Tharros House is a sober living home located in Lexington, Massachusetts.  This facility is a type of alternative addiction recovery support that can benefit addicts by giving them a live-in support group.

Sober Living Home Fence in Boston Massachusetts

How a Sober Living Home Can Help You

Staying in a sober living home is a great option for people looking to stay clean once they become sober.

While rehab is great for getting clean and taking that much needed break to work on personal matters, many times it just isn’t enough to stay clean during everyday life.

Sober living homes are a great transition from rehab to give you the tools you need and help you live more independently without the use of narcotics.

What is a Sober Living Home?

A sober living home provides you with a safe, peaceful environment usually alongside other’s that are also recovering from addiction.

Although you may need to be home by a certain time or take random drug tests, the goal of a sober living home is to help you become responsible for yourself. Therefore, compared to rehab centers, there is much more freedom to come and go as you please.

Benefits of sober living homes may include:

  • Organized meetings
  • A safe, drug free environment
  • Help finding work if needed
  • Connections to outpatient recovery programs
  • Empowers and supports your journey to become free from substances
  • Provides the time and support needed to restructure your life, free from your old environment that may not have been as healthy
  • Coordinated in a thoughtful way to help you with recovery

Are sober living homes actually effective?

Yes, there is anecdotal and empirical evidence that sober living houses actually make a significant difference. People that reside in sober living homes generally have better results and are able to stay sober more consistently and for longer periods of time with a lower rate of relapse.

Tharros Sober Living House in Boston Massachusetts

Tharros offers a highly supportive version of sober living, which includes an extensive peer support model.  To learn what’s different about Tharros, view our Tharros Experience Page.