For a recovering addict, a relapse can be a challenge to deal with. One advantage of sober living houses is that their facilities help patients avoid its occurrence. Aside from the strict rules imposed by the management, the residents should participate on a list of daily activities.

These activities may vary in every patient. It’s the patient’s responsibility to follow his/her daily routines. Keeping themselves busy is important in the recovery process.

Developing a Healthy Daily Routine

Compared to rehabilitation centers, patients are given more freedom in sober living houses. This freedom includes the privilege to of doing their daily routines by themselves keep themselves busy and help them have a fast recovery from addiction.

A healthy daily routine in a sober living facility prioritizes the on-going treatment of the patient. There’s also a time allocated for family therapy and building relationships with others.

The program should be based on the patient’s personal needs. This will provide balance and help sober living residents to avoid relapse from their addiction.

Most patients prefer to include this list in their daily routine:

• Personal Therapy Sessions – This therapeutic activity will help you feel better about yourself and improve your recovery.
• Family Therapy Sessions – Family counseling involves the understanding and collaboration with the patient’s family members to help solve his/her problems. The family is also one of the most important support systems for a recovering patient.
• 12-Step Meetings – These consist of a community where the staff or peer group provides security and constant support towards an addict’s recovery.
• Exercise/Workouts – A regular exercise can help you provide a natural way of dealing with stresses in life.
• Job Interviews – This will help recovering addicts to develop coping skills and establish a positive attitude in the future, especially on challenges when looking for new jobs.
• House Meetings – Through house meetings recovering addicts are reminded of their responsibilities within the sober living community.
• Proper Sleeping Hours – Healthy sleeping hours may help recovering patients from suffering insomnia.
• Eating Healthy Foods – Proper diet promotes the production of ‘good’ hormones in your body, and this can be a big factor for an addict’s recovery.

Benefits of Having a Daily Schedule of Activities

There are many benefits of having a healthy daily routine in sober living homes. Aside from developing discipline, daily scheduled routines maintain a sense of purpose in an addict’s everyday life. It can also help them avoid the temptation of using drugs or alcohol. Another benefit is that they can become better at handling stress. Through these daily activities, they’ll reduce anxieties from unexpected events that they might encounter in the future.

The willingness to achieve sobriety and doing the assigned responsibilities in a sober living community can be essential in obtaining a successful recovery from addiction.

The stress level in the early recovery stage is known to be the most crucial. Patients who have turned to drugs and alcohol to deal with uncomfortable feelings may go back to getting high or drinking as a way to deal with the problems.

Random drug testing is for these kinds of situations. It’s a decisive part of the recovery process.

Incentive

Motivating goals keep a resident go through the recovery process. Increasing career opportunities, decreasing health problems, improving quality of life, avoiding incarceration or death are some of the things that a sober living resident may have in mind.

Some of the recovering addicts may fall back to the lure of drugs and alcohol when tough days strike them.

For residents who are aware of the impending drug tests, they’re also reminded of the consequences if they fail to pass the test. They might lose their spot in the sober living program and fall back into active addiction. Putting things into perspective help residents to know the importance of sticking to the treatment program.

Accountability in Recovery

The idea of taking a pill or indulging in the use of illicit substance ‘just once’ and get away with it can be tempting. Drug tests offer accountability to residents who are losing focus of their sobriety.

The avoidance of the consequences for the occasional drug use brings the resident closer towards recovery. Knowing that the drug tests are just around the corner, the ability to resist temptations is vital in experiencing sobriety.

The Importance of Abstinence in the Sober Living Environment

A resident in a sober living home might break the rules and get high on drugs or become drunk. If another resident finds out about it, it may trigger cravings for them. This instance shows how relapse can be contagious.

Drugs tests are done to monitor and help identify those residents who aren’t following the house rules. This effort gives the therapist, manager, and case manager the chance to help the faltering resident to get back on track before it overwhelms them.

Situations in every sober living environment may be different. Depending on the management of sober houses, drug tests can be done on residents either at random or on schedule.

It’s important to know that these efforts aren’t intended to be intrusive. This house rule is for the residents to see positive effects in the sober living home. In this process, positive environment is reinforced, helping the residents to experience sobriety.

Addiction can drain you and your family’s finances. Feeding yourself with drugs or alcohol to satisfy your mental urges may force you to spend beyond your means.

If you’re addicted to any substance of abuse, you or your family may shoulder treatment facility costs and other relevant expenses. It can be a burden unless your insurance provider offers assistance.

Families trying to support an addicted person may not have much in their pockets to draw upon when the patient prefers to enroll in a sober living facility.

However, there are affordable sober living homes available. How do you find an affordable sober living home? Read on to find out.

Reaching Out to People

This can be the quickest and the most convenient way to find affordable sober living homes. Find people who can help you deal with your struggles in recovering from addiction.

The following people may provide you with useful information about affordable sober living homes:

• Addiction Therapists
• Social Workers
• Interventionists
• Sober People

Internet

You may search on the Internet for affordable sober living homes. Use the terms ‘inexpensive sober living homes’ or ‘low cost sober living houses.’ The internet can be a great help for you to find what you need.

Finding local charities via the internet is a great place to start. Many of these organizations have their own websites, and they can allow you to submit your application online.

Community Resources

Sober living communities can be an expensive choice for you especially if you’re on a tight budget. Costs of sober home rentals and treatment programs aren’t cheap. You have to pay for your own care and attend to your own bills.

Community agencies that offer affordable sober living houses to residents can be hard to find. People with low incomes may find it easier to enroll in a community drug rehab. This is because drug rehab facilities might offer programs with minimum or no cost at all.

However, some communities offer housing programs for people who are:

• Homeless
• From low-income brackets
• Dealing with mental illness
• Victims of domestic violence

Unlike sober living homes, these communities may not have strict guidelines regarding sobriety. But these places still offer a safe and sober environment for those who are determined to achieve recovery from their addiction.

This can be a good option for you and for anyone who has a very low ability to pay. Go to a social worker near you, and he or she will offer assistance. Addiction therapists could also help you if needed.

Assistance from Private Sectors

Some sober living houses may allow people who can’t afford expensive fees and intensive bills. These homes may charge prices which are comparable to apartments so that those people with low incomes might be able to afford. Social workers or addiction therapists might know where to find such sober living facilities.

Charitable Organizations

According to Independent Sector, there are about 1.1 million charitable organizations in the US. These agencies might offer you financial assistance so that you can stay in an affordable sober living environment, and be able to get back on your feet again.

Some of these charitable institutions assist with addiction problems directly. They may provide voluntary or low-cost care for you or anyone in the early stages of recovery from addiction. Other agencies may have their own networks of sober living facilities. And from there, people can get the support they need to achieve sobriety.

Just like sober living facilities, these charitable institutions have strict requirements before allowing you to stay in their homes. You may need to provide proofs that you’re in dire financial needs, determination and commitment to sobriety, and participation in their activities.

These type of sober homes may be difficult to acquire unless you meet their requirements.

Relocation

Costs of sober living homes can sometimes depend on their geographic location. If you stay in a highly-urbanized city, expect that you might find it challenging to afford posh and luxurious sober homes.

There are various sober homes all across the country, and you might try to consider traveling to places where sober homes can be less expensive and affordable.

Traveling to a different state or place for care may allow you to acquire the assistance that you need to achieve recovery. It might be a hassle for you to relocate but it might be worth the benefit.

A study by the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, that involved a community for women and children, found out that 63% of female participants were sober after the four-year research took place.

This finding suggests that sober facilities provide the right venue for people to achieve behavioral changes and take charge of their lives.

This study is just one of the many studies that prove how powerful sober living communities are in helping people that seek treatment.

But are sober living communities a good fit for everyone?

It’s no secret that sober living houses allow some people to achieve significant changes. But other people might do just as well once they’re at home and surrounded by loving people.

While there are no sturdy guidelines that demand people to decide which is the best option, some people benefit from the help that these sober communities offer.

Complex Family Relationships

Addictions may tear families apart. Often, the family members are left so damaged that they’re prone to being socially dysfunctional.

A study in the Journal of Substance Use and Misuse suggests that the families of people with heroin addictions may be extremely chaotic. Some fathers turn to alcohol, while some siblings succumb to drug abuse.

Once the addicted children leave their homes, they have high chances of recreating the negative patterns in their adult lives.

It may be a vicious cycle. The researchers say that they might marry addicted people and might raise children who abuse drugs.

The theory may not apply to all people with addiction, but it suggests that people with addictions live in homes that don’t provide protection from substance abuse. Once these people return home, alcohol and drugs might be accessible. The destructive forces of the family might push a person to go back to substance use and abuse.

Sober living communities provide intensive programs that involve the participation of family members to address this issue.

In some cases, the damage caused by addiction to abusive substances can become too extensive for the entire family to heal together. A situation like this may require the addicted people to build new lives where their families only play smaller roles.

This treatment program needs the full cooperation of the people with addiction. It’ll take time. It’s not complete if the person leaves the addiction program before the course is over.

Dangerous Neighborhoods

While addiction itself is difficult to conquer, it’s notable how the neighborhood may worsen such difficulties. It’ll be a real struggle for a person to improve if he or she is exposed to communities that have the following:

• Contain multiple bars
• Accept public drunkenness
• Allow street dealers to hawk drugs
• House many addicts

As the neighborhood tolerates addiction, some community members cave in to a life of drugs. A study about Chicana drug users was published in the journal ‘Substance Use and Misuse.’ It reported that girls sometimes succumb to gangs. These group of juvenile delinquents sometimes promote drug use. The girls usually acquire a deviant lifestyle that revolves around drugs.

Once these users are done with a treatment program and return to the communities that promote addiction, they might experience the same influence that led them to addiction. Relapse is at hand.

As sober living communities promote the riddance of substance use and abuse, the people with addiction undergo recovery. Some communities help graduates secure other safe places to live. This effort slims down the chances of their return to their former danger zones.

Lack of Connections

1. Drug addiction recovery amounts to a community that has like-minded peers. Sober activities may be shared with these friends. They might be willing to listen to the difficulties that the recovery brings.
2. A study that was published in the Journal of Addictions Nursing stated that a strong and healthy relationship in the family is needed to achieve sobriety and long-term recovery from addiction.
3. People who can involve themselves in positive relationships find it easier to resist the lure of drugs. Others who fail to have a community that supports recovery might swing back to bad habits.
4. Some sober living communities promote communal living. People may have their private spaces for sleeping, but they share most activities like eating in the cafeteria-style dining rooms.
5. In communal activities like this, they may get to know their neighbors and may make friends with them. Close ties may be developed. The new-found friends may be considered as extended families. This kind of bond plays a vital role in the recovery process.

A New Way to Live

Some people develop addictions later in life. When these people enter programs, they only have limited years to conquer the bad habits. Some people might have a different response to addiction.

The researchers in the journal ‘Substance Use and Misuse,’ consider the idea that those people may feel their addictions as a form of work. Once they’re freed from their addictions, they might go through the same experiences that are usually felt by unemployed people.

They might feel:

• Unsure of how to fill the time
• Uncertain about where to begin
• Confused about how to define their worth
• Unable to think of a different way in which to live

The sheer force of treating addiction may pull some people back to their bad habits. Sober living communities provide facilities that may help break this chain. These communities help clients to complete tasks and manage their time properly. Through these efforts, the clients don’t need to worry about how to fill their free time.

While sober living communities are considered best suited to specific groups of people, it’s notable that anyone may benefit from these facilities. In fact, anyone suffering from addictions or substance abuse might need to consider this option.

Going to safer and sober environments may be the best option for you or your loved ones. Sober living communities may help you succeed in sobriety and your new life.

The recent attention on drug abuse in the United States focuses on the opioid and heroin epidemic. But cocaine producers have some ace up its sleeve, and now it’s making a comeback.

According to the report of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the number of cocaine overdose deaths in the United States in 2015 was the highest and second since 1994. This increase is attributed to the boom of Colombia’s illegal cocaine crop.

Where does cocaine come from?

The ridge of the Andes Mountain in South America and the lowland jungles in Colombia hold more than just the lush greenery of nature. They have been a source of coca plants. These plants are the source of a grand cocaine production that happens in Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia.

Pure cocaine has been a great deal for those countries. In 2008, Bolivia produced 113 metric tons of pure cocaine. Peru and Colombia had 450 metric tons each.

Recent estimates in 2014 show that Colombia is growing more coca plants than Bolivia and Peru combined. But Bolivian and Peruvian plants produce more cocaine than Colombian coca plants. This means Colombian production units need to harvest more coca plants for them to provide similar amounts of cocaine. Also, Chile is making a name in the cocaine production industry.

Coca plants grow in protected areas. Some of these are the national parks, areas along the border, and native reserves. In these regions, spraying efforts to kill the crops are prohibited.

Coca leaves can be harvested 3-5 times a year. But in some cases, these can be collected for up to 8 times a year depending on the plant’s species and the area where it grows.

How is cocaine made?

There are various ways to make cocaine. One method involves the following steps.

1. Drying of coca leaves.
2. Soaking of dried leaves with lime water or other alkaline liquids.
3. The extraction of the leaves with kerosene in metal drums.
4. Usage of sulfuric acid to extract the dissolved cocaine.
5. The formation of a liquid solution to which lime is added. This stage leads to precipitation of coca paste.
6. The addition of more sulfuric acid and potassium permanganate to remove impurities.
7. The addition of lime, sodium bicarbonate, or ammonia to cause the base to separate.
8. The base is further dissolved in a solvent like acetone.
9. Then the base is soaked in hydrochloric acid.
10. Finally, the cocaine paste is filtered through a cloth to separate.
11. The paste is dried as a solid deposit of white powder.

Another process involves:

1. Dissolving the base in a solvent like ether, ethyl acetate, and acetone.
2. Then the base is heated in a water bath.
3. The addition of Methyl ethyl ketone and hydrochloric acid to the hot liquid mixture. This process leads to cocaine crystallization in the solution.
4. Solvents are pressed out by hand, followed by a hydraulic press, then the mixture is heated in a microwave to create cocaine powder.

About 450-600 kg of fresh Colombian coca leaves may create 1 kilogram of cocaine base. The cocaine base may be converted into a kilogram of powdered cocaine or cocaine hydrochloride.

Crack cocaine process

Powdered cocaine may be processed in crack through the following steps.

1. Mixing of the powdered cocaine into a solution of either ammonia or a combination of baking soda and water.
2. Heating the mixture to create a substance that forms rocks for smoking.
3. Alternately, an alkali substance can be mixed into a heated liquid cocaine solution that cracks then settles to the bottom of as a solid.
4. Some adulterants, or cutting agents, can be filtered out through the creation of crack cocaine.

How is it distributed?

Cocaine distribution is a chain that involves different massive groups.

The growers of coca plants sell the coca paste or the leaves to laboratories for processing. Cartels own the labs. After the processing of cocaine hydrochloride or the cocaine base, the local cocaine trafficking agents smuggle them to a larger organization. Those organizations arrange for another group that can ship them to another country.

The distributors circulate cocaine through South and Central America. They smuggle it to Mexico, or sometimes, through the Caribbean.

The majority of the supply ends up in the United States. But, areas in Europe, Australia, Africa, or Asia may also receive them.

By sea, the drug from Colombia is sent to Mexico or Central America. From there, the drugs land in the United States via land borders. An estimate of about 90% of U.S. cocaine comes through the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of the supply comes through Texas.

When the cocaine reaches the United States, the drugs are sold to wholesale dealers.

The dealers then sell the drugs to mid-level drug dealers. Then those mid-level drug dealers sell them to low-level street dealers.

Being intoxicated varies with each person. Some people make it a coping mechanism to alleviate the stresses of life. Others just want to hang out and have fun. There are also some people who stay sober and keep life simple as possible.

As to what’s used to intoxicate the body, it highly depends on the person. The number of years being intoxicated may affect the person’s preferences in enjoying body intoxication. Frequent exposure to vices might cause a person to experiment new things. Some cases led to serious problems such as using illicit drugs.

Issues regarding abusive substances have high death rates due to overdose. Multiple sober living facilities were established to solve this significant social problem,

Although it doesn’t completely abolish severe intoxications, acquired benefits from a sober living facility are beyond the concern of drugs.

Indeed, people who are committed to programs of sober living houses gained deep spiritual benefits.

Peer Education

Through sober living facilities, drug addicts are provided with assistance towards recovery. An addict is recommended to undergo rehabilitation treatment first before joining a sober living community. However, the process may still vary each patient after the rehab.

Some are still new to the environment and find difficulties in following the rules. Through time, others developed practical techniques that’ll help them resist temptations. It’s essential to be surrounded by people who are experienced enough in the recovery process. Sharing firsthand experiences serves a relevant lesson for the improvement of others, especially the newcomers.

The importance of having a peer group discussion in a sober living community is necessary. It provides opportunities to learn from their common circle. Just like any other peer groups, it’s considered to be a form of active learning. By observing and understanding how other people work, you can apply these processes to your personal recovery struggles. Mentors play a significant role in delivering these firsthand learning.

Since it’s a two-way learning process, patients aren’t the only ones who acquire benefits but also mentors. The acting facilitators feel the need to be responsible for their actions and most especially towards the patients. A mentor’s sincerity and dedication in helping others can give a patient a sense of doing good in their performance.

Sober Living Facilities as a Reminder

As part of the sober living community, every member of the housing has their own responsibilities. Everyone is encouraged to attend the weekly peer group discussions and take their daily medications.

With multiple obligations, it’s important to stay committed to the program provided by the sober living centers. Dedication of following the program may depend both on patients and advisers. The reinforcement of lessons during peer group discussions or on a daily basis will help addicts to be reminded of the program. It also serves as awareness on behalf of the patient’s progress with the recovering process.

Strict implementation of rules inside the sober living houses is also crucial as a reinforcing factor. Patients are more conscious of punishments, so they obey rules as much as possible.

New Environment

Aside from the primary objective which is focused on sobriety, sober living communities ensure that residents have an alcohol and drug-free environment. This kind of community help both alcoholics and drug addicts to live without negative influences.

People who don’t participate in programs like sober living facilities find difficulties in recovering from addiction issues.

A research study about Drug and Alcohol Dependence states that continued use of cocaine or any other drugs came from various cues. These include videos of people who use and prepare cocaine.

Former addicts are triggered with these videos and have massive cravings for the drug. Their heart tends to race faster, and their skin gets cooled. Similar studies also stated that rooms or places where they once used drugs might also affect the person’s improvement towards achieving sobriety. Relapses might be likely to take place in areas where addicts usually do the illegal activities.

Addictions are also difficult to eliminate in troubled communities which drugs are highly available and used among the people in the area. Dealers and local producers like to operate in this type of community. In result, the drugs are easy to access.

Sober living houses are typically privately owned and isolated. Locations of these residences are critical to the patient’s recovery. A quiet environment will help addicts to concentrate on the recovering process. Unlike rehabilitation centers, people who participate in sober living programs can come and go. However, they still have specific rules to follow such as curfews and take random drug tests.

New Beginnings

After admitting to rehabilitation centers, patients may want to live among sober communities to achieve full recovery. These types of communities help people suffering from addiction issues to stay sober. Although they have more freedom compared to rehab centers, residents are still expected to perform their obligations. Working and going to school are some of the activities which are supported and encouraged by the institution.

Recovery from sober living facilities is also a great way to start mending broken relationships. Throughout severe intoxication, patients and people that truly matters in their lives may have distant relationships with them. When fully recovered, it’s easier to reconcile. People who recover from these communities feel renewed and look in brighter perspectives. Residents can seek proper jobs and can communicate properly with others.

Sober facilities are considered to be a smooth and comfortable transition process towards sobriety. The support system in this community is strong and reliable because every person in the institution helps each other to get better. Regular meetings allow them to discuss their anxieties and can ask advice without doubts.

People living in sober communities go beyond the healing process. They serve as a second family and have each other’s back when times get hard. Entering or participating in a larger community might be easier for them to connect and engage in different activities on a daily basis.