Being in recovery means changing how you deal with life but also requires shifts in where you live. Wherever you used to live may be blanketed with liquor stores, bars, or places that remind you of who you were then and where you used to go while in active addiction. Perhaps even the old place where you lived had a certain smell or way of bringing you back into those experiences. In short, your neighborhood could keep you trapped in an old mindset you need to shake to stay sober.

Finding Home

When you are trying to stay sober, your neighborhood may seem to keep you stuck, repeating the same vicious cycle. With availability of drugs at your fingertips, the social atmosphere has a lot to do with sobriety. Finding a new home is not an easy choice and requires careful contemplation. Some of the question you might ask yourself can include:

  • Is there away to minimize triggers in the environment? You may try a sound machine to block out noise or play music. If you stay away from anything that helps you not think of substances, it may only work for awhile. Minimizing triggers is only one way to do it, as addiction is also embedded in your mind and body.
  • Is there a reason to stay? If you are used to living in a cheap part of town that makes it easy to pay rent, you may want to consider where else you can live if it means staying sober. Finding a place away from chaos may be more expensive and require a commute to work. Don’t trivialize the importance of your recovery because, without it, you have nothing.
  • Will you be able to access recovery tools? If your programs involves therapy, yoga, and meditation, you need to be close to those places so you can stay accountable to practice. Support recovery groups will be key also. Staying sober is worth the effort.
  • What about isolation? It is important to avoid people, places, and things from the past but isolation can lead to relapse. If you want to stay sober, you need the love and support of friends and family. Pick a place that provides proximity to family and affords you privacy as well.

The work is well worth it. Moving is not an easy choice. As it turns out, it may be the best for your recovery. If you reached any conclusion, you may discover there are coping skills and then there are things not worth coping with. If you use all your coping skills in an effort to live in a toxic space, you may realize it is not worth coping with.

The Springboard Center’s addiction treatment programs are tailored to meet the needs of each client. By utilizing a set of diverse methods of addiction treatment, we are able to deal with your addiction from all angles and concentrate on every aspect of your healing process. It is important to recognize that many of our services offer a group setting and environment, so that the client spends time with other people affected by the same chronic disease and problems. 432-620-0255