Although you are committed to sobriety, you should prepare for some of the challenges ahead. Unfortunately, relapses are a relatively common setback. But just because relapses can happen—it doesn’t mean that it must happen to you.
1. Understand the Signs of a Relapse
One of the most critical steps you can take to avoid a relapse is to educate yourself on the signs of it. Knowing what to look for can help you recognize when you need help. Some common signs to watch for include:
Becoming defensive
Feelings of anger
Poor sleeping and eating habits
Isolating yourself
Mood swings
Lying about your behaviors or feelings
Spending time with friends with who you used to drink alcohol with
Fantasizing about drinking alcohol
Thinking about or planning to try using alcohol or drugs again in the future.
2. Fill Up Your Free Time
Another thing that you can do to help avoid a relapse is to find fun hobbies and activities to fill up your free time. When you are involved in many other things and have additional responsibilities, it makes it hard to slide back into old habits.
3. Continue to Attend Meetings and Support Group Sessions
After you have been sober for some time, you might start thinking that you don’t need to attend meetings and support group sessions that help sober individuals stay that way. Try to resist the urge to give up these meetings and support groups—as they can be helpful for long-term sobriety.
You can also consider a sober living home, where you reside with other sober people similar to you. Tharros House is a great place to continue living a sober lifestyle. Give us a call today to find out if it might be the right fit for you.
After you make the decision to stop drinking, it is common to continue to experience cravings for alcohol for some time. Also, after committing to a sober lifestyle, you might be more aware of your cravings since you have made a conscious decision to avoid alcohol.
To remain sober, you will have to face your cravings head-on and stay strong. Knowledge is power, so one crucial step you can take moving forward is to plan for how you will handle cravings when they pop up.
What Causes Alcohol Cravings?
Cravings often occur as a response to a trigger, which can be automatic. Triggers can be different from person to person. Common triggers for many individuals include stress and specific emotions and memories of something associated in some way with alcohol.
People who experience cravings for alcohol often have both internal and external triggers. Internal triggers can include emotions, thoughts, memories, or even physical sensations that give you the urge to consume alcohol. External triggers include environmental cues that you associate with alcohol—such as places, people, certain situations, and the time of day (such as the end of a workday).
Managing Cravings
While cravings for alcohol can be intense, the good news is that they often can pass after a few minutes go by. When you experience cravings for alcohol, it can help to remind yourself that the craving will soon disappear. Positive distractions are another excellent way to manage your cravings. Reading a book, watching a funny show, and going for a walk are all positive distractions that can help.
Tharros House Sober Living
The early stages of sobriety bring many challenges. One thing you can do to have a better chance at remaining sober is to live in a sober living home. Tharros House is a sober living home in Massachusetts that has helped many residents continue their sober journey. Give us a call today to learn more about how we can help.
Holding yourself accountable in life can help tremendously in maintaining your sobriety. It helps you add the necessary structure to your life to achieve your goals and build a better life for yourself.
Sobriety and Accountability
Having family, friends, and counselors in your life who hold you accountable for your actions can be very helpful. These people can help a person in recovery keep their focus on what matters and to stay on track with their sobriety.
During a person’s recovery process, it is important for them to work toward an addiction-free life with good health and positivity. Accountability plays a crucial role in this recovery success. Without having accountability, a recovering addict will not be able to recognize their faults and take responsibility for their actions.
Accepting accountability will help to provide the tools that you need to stay sober. Accountability can also help people maintain their motivation throughout the recovery process.
Why a Lack of Accountability Can Be a Problem
It is not uncommon for people who are struggling with drug or alcohol abuse to place the blame for their actions and behaviors on the substances that they have been using. Some people use their addiction as an excuse to avoid dealing with certain emotions.
The recovery process forces people to face these behaviors and emotions head on to begin healing. Failure to take accountability for your own actions can only hurt you in the long run, ruining relationships and leading to bad decisions.
Sober living homes can help people in recovery remain accountable for their actions. These homes also often have strict rules and regulations to assist you in building a better life for yourself.
To learn more about sober living homes and what they can offer, contact the Tharros House today at (617) 249-1087.
In many cases, there are two things that keep people with addictions trapped in the addiction cycle: physical dependence and psychological dependence on a substance.
Physical and Psychological Dependency
A person is physically dependent on a substance when their body has become dependent on the substance in order to continue functioning and avoid withdrawal symptoms. A person is psychologically dependent on a substance when they become afraid to stop drinking or using drugs because as much as it may cause problems in their life, the thought of being completely sober seems worse to them. It is often difficult for non-addicts to truly understand psychological dependency. From an outsider’s standpoint, it is hard to picture anything being worse than the mess that addiction often makes of people’s lives.
Letting Go of Your Addiction and Starting Over
Conquering an addiction and becoming sober is not just about the physical detoxification. This process also includes a psychological detox. When it comes to letting go of something, humans have a natural fear that they will just end up with nothing.
However, that is not really what happens. Letting go of everything when it comes to getting sober and beating your addiction simply means that you have given yourself a fresh start and a clean slate. It means that anything is now possible. You can use rehab and the recovery process to give yourself a new beginning and move forward with your life, focusing on the positives.
Once you have made the decision to let go of your addiction and begin recovery, you will have a fresh start. When you are ready to start reacclimating into an independent home environment, the Tharros House can help. The Tharros House is a sober living home located in Massachusetts, where residents can live among other sober people as they maintain their sobriety.
Nature seems to have a certain healing power that simply cannot be explained. When you go outside and experience what nature has to offer, there seems to be a healing and uplifting balance that restores and nurtures your mind, body, and soul.
Nature and Physical Recovery
One of the ways that nature can help a person maintain their sobriety and advance in their recovery is through physical activity. There are many different ways to go outside and experience nature, such as swimming, running, hiking, or biking. All of these activities can help you maintain a healthier lifestyle. These outside activities not only strengthen your body, but they can also strengthen your mind and mental state.
Nature and Renewal
For someone who is recovering from an addiction, nature can offer the perfect place for a fresh start. Nature itself is a great example of life and recovery. Each new day begins with the rising of the sun, while every spring brings new life. People who have experienced difficult situations due to their addictions can also find their fresh start and new beginning while at one with nature.
Nature and Sober Living
An effective tool that can assist someone with sober living is nature. Experiencing nature outdoors in a natural environment can help to restore and support your recovery process. Sometimes, even just getting a breath of fresh air can make a big difference in your outlook and the way you are feeling.
The Tharros House is a sober living home located in Boston, Massachusetts. At the Tharros House, you will have many different opportunities to get outside and experience the joys of nature. We offer different outdoor group activities, such as hiking, rock climbing, and sailing in the Boston Harbor. Our residents love the many opportunities they have to experience all that nature has to offer.
Sober living homes are a great living option for individuals who are making progress with their battles with addiction. For those who have done the work to get sober, it can be hugely beneficial to live in communities with like-minded individuals to help maintain sobriety.
A sober living home can serve as a bridge between an inpatient rehabilitation facility and the “real world.” After a person leaves an inpatient facility and returns home, they may have difficulty adjusting back to their daily life.
Sober homes can give someone a type of in-between recovery option that gives them the opportunity to practice the lessons they learned in rehab and the support of a sober community before jumping right back into their lives. For some people in recovery, a sober living home can make the difference between staying sober and relapsing back into their addiction.
These homes do not provide residents with the same level of structure as they would experience in an inpatient facility; however, sober living homes have the benefit of providing residents with an intermediate form of sober environment that encourages its residents to work on healthy habits and coping skills for when they return to their homes.
What Can You Expect in a Sober Living Home?
Before making the decision to move into a sober living home, it can be helpful beforehand to get an idea of what you can expect.
When you stay in an inpatient treatment center, as a patient, you are completely immersed in the center’s rehab programs, and you typically do not have a lot of independence. In sober homes you have more freedom and get the chance to have some of your independence back.
Residents living in a sober living home are not required to stay there at all times; rather, they have the ability to come and go as they please. Having this freedom gives individuals in recovery the chance to ease back into their normal life and begin resuming their daily responsibilities and tasks.
Although sober living houses tend to be less restrictive than inpatient facilities are, these homes still do have rules that residents are required to abide by. Some of these rules include attendance at group meetings, events, and a curfew.
What Are the Benefits of Residing in a Sober Living Home?
There are certainly many benefits to living in a sober living home. Residents have the opportunity to attend 12-step programs close by, often on the premises. Sober living homes also provide the benefit of a structured lifestyle while creating an environment for sober friendships and companionships to thrive.
Staying in a sobriety house helps you to be better able to hold yourself accountable to take ownership of your sobriety and overall progress. A big of this is creating positive friendships that allow you to help each other to abstain from alcohol and drugs.
Having such a great support system gives residents the opportunity to avoid the isolation that can sometimes occur during the process of returning to their former homes while in recovery. It also provides residents with an environment to help support them during their recovery from substance abuse and also addiction, from those who are just transitioning over from their stay in rehab.
Sober living homes provide a unique combination of structure and freedom that can help an individual in recovery start to readjust to life outside of rehab. In fact, these homes are set up specifically to serve as a transitional housing option for people who are just coming out of treatment for addiction.
A Sober Living Home Can Help You to Maintain Your Sobriety
Sober living homes can act as a supplement to a person’s recovery from addiction. These homes are an alternative from going straight from an immersive care environment to an unstructured home environment. Since sober homes are designed to replicate normal and everyday life situations while also instilling healthy habits, these homes help to reduce a person’s chance of relapse.
Other benefits of sober living homes may include:
Helping with things that will help you progress with their recovery and maintain their sobriety, including making amends with family and friends who were impacted by their substance abuse and helping their residents to adjust to sober living in an unstructured environment.
Help finding a job with resources provided by the facility, such as computer access, and often provide transportation services so residents can attend job interviews.
Sober living houses are not meant to be forever homes, so they can also provide you with the resources to locate more permanent housing when ready.
Help with creating carefully designed plans for aftercare. These plans should include a relapse prevention plan that can be individualized to each resident. This can be done by therapy sessions that either take place on the premises or are conducted electronically.
Sober Living Therapy Sessions
Therapy sessions can be helpful for sober living home residents in many ways.
Through therapy, residents may learn to identify triggers that could entice them to go back to engaging in substance abuse once they leave the sobriety house and re-acclimate into the community. It can also give residents the tools to learn and practice healthy coping skills during times of high stress and cravings or urges to use.
With therapy, residents can create a plan of action to prepare themselves for those times that will inevitably occur in the future and help them to make the right choices and avoid relapsing.
When is the Right Time to Move into a Sober Living Home?
A good time to move into a sober living home is after you have completed an inpatient rehab program and are ready to begin acclimating back into society. Sober living homes are good transitional residences for those who feel almost ready to go back into their normal lives—but want to have extra support and learn additional coping strategies beforehand.
Moving into a sober home has the benefit of helping you create a solid support system with friends who are going through the same or similar things that you are. These friendships can help you not just during your time residing at the sober living house, but can help you in many ways down the road and throughout the rest of your life.
Sober living homes provide residents with many benefits and can be significantly useful for many people during the process of recovery from addiction. In many cases, people who choose to stay in them tend to live there for at least ninety days, but it is possible to stay longer if necessary.
How to Find a Sober Living Home that Fits Your Needs
Once you have made the decision that living in a sober living home is the right choice for you at this stage in your recovery, you will next need to start your search to find the right home.
When you begin your search, there are some things to keep in mind that are considered red flags. First, you should be wary of a sobriety house that claims to be free or seems particularly cheap. As it is a residence, you should expect to pay an amount at the very least, similar to rent in your area. While the exact cost will differ depending on location and amenities offered, you can expect to pay anywhere from a few thousand per month to $10,000 per month.
Another thing to do while you search is to make an appointment to tour the sober living home in person. You should not just rely on website pictures prior to making a commitment. Viewing the home in person not only gives you a clear picture of what the residence actually looks like, but you can also get a general vibe of the place.
Look for a sober living home that has a set of rules / minimum requirements. The biggest requirement should be that all residents are alcohol and drug-free in order to promote a positive environment for addiction recovery. These facilities should conduct some sort of background check on potential residents in order to ensure the safety of their current residents.
It is also important to learn about the sober living home’s safety and privacy policies. As a resident, you are entitled to a certain amount of privacy in your living area. There should be safety precautions put in place, such as locked doors and a no-weapons policy. It is also beneficial to have security cameras in common areas and in entrances and exits.
It’s a red flag if the sober home you are considering does not have trained or certified staff. It is important that the staff working at a sobriety house has a certain amount of training and experience to ensure that they can handle issues that may arise during a resident’s stay. A well-trained staff can also lead more effective group meetings and other events offered by the sober living home to its residents.
Tharros House—A Sober Living Home in the Boston Area of Massachusetts
If you are looking for a sober living home in the Boston Area of Massachusetts, the Tharros House is a stand-out facility that can help you maintain your sobriety and grow as a person in the process. The Tharros House combines a sober living community with aftercare in order to assist their clients in acquiring new skills to meet life’s challenges.
Tharros House’s mission is to help their clients find success with long-term recovery and move on from negative things in their past. Their sober living home places a high value on integrity and honesty, and the staff members take the time to help their residents cultivate a new and constructive sober lifestyle.
With over 40 years of combined experience with recovery, the team at Tharros House understands the difficulties that their residents face, and they have a genuine desire to help their residents get back to leading a fulfilling and happy life.
Why Choose Tharros House?
The team at Tharros House prides itself on taking a custom approach with each of their clients, beginning with making sure that they have a full understanding of each person’s individual needs. Our team makes sure to build a connection which each resident’s clinical providers in order to help fully understand what support is needed before that resident moves in.
At Tharros House, the team takes the time to connect with local Boston-area professionals and providers that can help our residents in many areas. We can help with referrals to clinical therapy, couples and family counseling, addiction classes, therapy groups, nutrition and wellness services, life coaching, stress management, exercise and physical training.
All clients at Tharros House receive an introduction to wellness and nutritional eating, including group discussions with a registered dietitian. We also offer nutritional cooking classes, mindfulness, and recovery yoga on site.
Tharros House amenities include a full chef’s style kitchen with high-end appliances, a ping pong table, flat-screen TVs, and a quiet dining room. There are seven large bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and two outside deck areas, along with an office with computers and printers that are available for clients to use.
The Tharros House in Boston, Massachusetts has many benefits to offer its residents. In addition to referral services and local connections, Tharros House also offers many fun onsite activities that encourage residents to let loose and have a good time without the use of alcohol or drugs.
Residents at Tharros House have the opportunity to make life-long friendships that can help them maintain their sobriety and, overall, enrich their lives. To learn more about what Tharros House has to offer you, contact us today at (617) 249-1087 or fill out the contact form on out site.
Tharros House is for men only. If you are interested in learning more about sober living for women, please check out Tera’s House.
While sometimes it may feel like you are alone, it is important to remember that you are not alone in your addiction. There are many people all over the world who are struggling with the same issues you are. According to the Huffington Post, 14 million Americans have problems associated with drinking. Millions more Americans are battling addictions to drugs or other substances.
Reframing the Way That You See Yourself
It is common for those suffering from substance abuse
addictions to have negative feelings about themselves. Instead of allowing
yourself to get caught up in these feelings, focus on reframing your thoughts.
Think about how you are a person working through recovery and doing your best
to overcome your addiction. A good way to begin reframing your thoughts from
negative to positive is to listen to positive daily affirmations.
Networking with Those in Similar Situations
It is often helpful for recovering addicts to speak with
others who have recovered from a similar addiction or who are in the same place
in their journey to full recovery. Someone who has been in your shoes will tend
to be less judgmental about things that you may worry about discussing with
others. It may also be beneficial to you and your self-esteem to give advice to
others and help guide them in their recovery.
Once you have begun the recovery process, a great way to stay on track with your recovery is to stay in a sober living home. The Tharros House is a sober living home for men in Massachusetts. It offers its residents support through morning meetings during the weekdays, along with a Sunday evening meeting. Tharros House also offers 24/7 peer-to-peer recovery support. You may also participate in cooking classes, and other regular activities at the Tharros House. Contact us today to learn more about what the Tharros House has to offer you.
Exercise can have many benefits for you during the process
of recovering from addiction. Also, it is important to keep in mind that there
are benefits from light exercise—there is no need to start lifting weights and
running several miles a day if you are not already used to that level of
activity. Light exercise can have just as many benefits as a more rigorous
exercise regimen.
Benefits of Daily Exercise
Research shows that a daily exercise routine can do wonders for your body and mind. One of the benefits you will get from daily exercise is that your exercise routine will provide much-needed structure to your day. It provides you with a certain level of responsibility to yourself that you may not have had while you were battling your addiction. Depending on how your addiction impacted your body, you may need to start slow with easier exercises like walking around the block or light yoga.
Another benefit to having a regular exercise routine is that
exercise releases endorphins, which make you feel good. This positive feeling
will help you feel good about yourself on the inside, and regular exercise will
help you to look your best on the outside, too.
Exercise is also good for your long-term health. There are
studies that show that engaging in a regular fitness routine can help improve
cardiovascular health and help to prevent the development of diabetes. Exercise
has also been shown to help lower your risk of certain types of cancers and may
even help alleviate anxiety and depression symptoms. Research also shows that
exercise may be able to increase the growth of new nerve connections in your
brain, which can help to heal your brain from the harm done by the addiction.
Daily exercise is just one way to help yourself recover from your addiction. Sober living homes, such as The Tharros House can also help you with the recovery process. Contact us today for more information.
While the goal for those recovering from addiction is to maintain their sobriety, it is unfortunately not always the case that they are able to do so the first time they attempt recovery, or at all. Luckily there are many different programs and approaches to recovery.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism—Study on AA Members
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol performed a long-term study on the success rate of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)members. The study focused on three groups, which included formally treated,informally treated, and untreated participants who suffered from an addiction to alcohol. After the one-year and three-year follow-ups, the results indicated that of those who entered into the AA program by their own choice, about half of them were sober. Only about a quarter of individuals who chose formal treatment were sober at these same check points.
The study concluded that individuals with alcohol issues who participated in AA along with formal treatment were more likely to be abstinent from alcohol between years one and three. Another follow-up was done at the eight-year point. At this follow-up, participants had a higher rate of abstinence if they participated in both treatments. The conclusion of this study was that AA attendance did positively impact recovery.
Additional Statistics on Sobriety
Another study found that only approximately one third of people who become abstinent from drugs or alcohol for less than one year actually remain abstinent. Once someone with an issue with addiction achieves a full year of sobriety, they have about a 50% chance of relapsing. Additionally,if a former addict is able to reach five full years of sobriety, the chance of a relapse is actually less than 15%.
For a sober individuals recovering from addiction, the Tharros House is an excellent sober living facility that can provide recovery support.
Recovering from addiction can be a difficult process. The path to recovery from drug or alcohol addiction is never quite the same for any two individuals. When looking into rehabilitation and recovery programs for yourself or for a loved one, you will recognize some common steps.
Getting Sober and Drug-Free
To begin with, a person choosing to fight their addiction to become sober and drug-free needs a strong desire and serious determination to get clean. If you are seeking help for a friend or family member fighting an addiction, it is important to realize that your loved one must be completely on board with the concept of recovery if they are to have a true chance at beating the addiction and staying sober. If they have not realized that they have a true problem, you may need to have an intervention.
Starting the Path to Recovery
The early stage of recovery typically involves a detox of alcohol and drugs in order for the person suffering from the addiction to remove the unwanted chemicals and substances from their body. The next step usually involves intense addiction recovery therapy. Often, the recovery therapy can take anywhere from 28 to 90 days. A recovery therapy program can provide the tools that are necessary to remain substance-free.
After leaving a rehab program, it is advisable to join a support group for recovering addicts. Another way to continue with sobriety that may be beneficial for many people is to spend some time residing in a recovery home, or sober living facility. The former addict will learn the tools they need to stay away from drugs and alcohol through relapse prevention taught in recovery programs, as well as learning healthy coping skills to continue their path to full recovery.
