If you are currently in recovery, building a sober community is an important step, one that helps create the foundation you will need to step back into daily life. The right type of treatment center will give you access to aftercare planning that facilitates this type of sober network and support.
What is a Sober Community?
A sober community refers to any group of friends or family, as well as social contacts that you create after participation in drug and alcohol rehab. A sober community is there to support you, particularly when you make your important transition away from inpatient or outpatient care and back toward your regular life.
Why Building a Sober Community Matters
There are several reasons why building a sober community should be an important part of your preparation as you begin to leave your treatment center and as you first transition back to your daily life.
#1: Peer Support
One of the first reasons that it’s important for someone in recovery to have a sober community is that it provides access to peer support. Peer support is much different from support groups or clinical support that you might get from a doctor or therapist.
Support groups are typically led by people who are in some stage of recovery like yourself and they are there to offer emotional support in some cases but generally to serve as a safe space for sharing.
Clinical support is what you get from a doctor or therapist, where you have the opportunity to learn useful coping skills and reflect inward on things that may have contributed to your addiction.
These both serve an important role during your initial stages of recovery, but as you begin to transition toward your aftercare, toward an independent life of sobriety, having people that will participate in sober activities with you, go outside for a quick walk or a bike ride, and help you stay accountable becomes incredibly important.
This is what you get from a sober community: people you can turn to to help you stay sober and give you the accountability and emotional support you need during a particularly difficult time.
#2: Emotional Support
Peer support and a social community provide you with emotional support that doesn’t necessarily come from other people. For example, friends and family might want to support you emotionally but don’t necessarily understand what you’ve been through nor how to express what they feel. Sometimes in trying to say the right thing they end up saying the wrong thing.
Consider that sometimes friends and family try to do what’s right by saying the perfect thing or doing the perfect thing when they know that you need emotional support. But in reality, that can sometimes make it worse because all you truly need is someone to go out with you, sit with you, or just talk without having to bring up addiction.
With a sober community, you can find access to this, to people who understand the importance of just sitting with you or just being outside with you, especially when you are going through a difficult time.
#3: Accountability
Finally, building a sober community is a way to directly and indirectly help you stay accountable. When you build a support network of people you go out with, talk to, or visit with, who understand what you’ve gone through, you are more likely to stay sober, stay away from triggers, and avoid a relapse.
Building a Sober Community: Getting Help from Sequoia Recovery Centers
Sequoia Recovery Centers provides addiction treatment services in Washington with a full continuum of care. When you transition from outpatient rehab, we will help you build a sober community by facilitating the right type of aftercare program. At Sequoia Recovery Centers, we provide client-centered opportunities to comfortably detox and transition toward building a sober community by encouraging participation in group therapy and holistic treatment.
We work hard to provide compassionate, personalized care while you are at our facility, with ongoing support that helps minimize your risk of relapse. Building your self-esteem and reducing the risk of relapse is best facilitated by building a sober community around you, people you can turn to for ongoing support, particularly peer support.
Overall, building a sober community will help keep you sustained emotionally and provide a way to enhance your accountability. When you find treatment, be sure to invest in aftercare planning that facilitates this type of development.
Contact Sequoia Recovery Centers today to learn more about our programs.