Most people entering a rehab will at some level appreciate that hopefully it is the beginning of a period of sober living that will last for most of their lives. Some people will see this as a rebuilding process, others will see it as a last gasp attempt to reconstruct their lives.
The nature of a rehab and its commitment to sober living can vary quite widely, both in terms of inpatient and outpatient facilities, attitudes to substance abuse addiction and its various addiction treatment programs.
The term sober living originally applied to people who became free from an alcohol addiction or alcoholism, but as the world of rehab and treatment centers has enlarged, the term sober living has begun to apply to people who feel they are free of any chemical addiction that they might have been treated for in a rehab.
The majority of rehabs are focused on 12th step recovery programs, and encourage or insist that clients undergoing an addiction treatment program attend regular meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, or Narcotics Anonymous or some other 12 step fellowship.
Apart from anything else, the main focus of going to meetings of these 12 step fellowships will actively encourage the clients who are in rehab that long-term sobriety and sober living is attainable and a real possibility in their lives.
Rehab Sober Living
The term sober living can sometimes be taken to extremes and this is an issue that needs to be flagged up and dealt with either in rehab or in early recovery. People will often enter a rehab or attend 12th at meetings in order to deal with a particular addiction alcohol or drugs.
Sometimes people will also be encouraged to break off other less serious addictions such as smoking, coffee/tea or sugar. This can often present an additional level of stress which is not only unwelcome but also potentially dangerous.
If someone has a problem with alcohol or drug addiction/alcoholism then that need to be their main focus of attention. Trying to get someone to effectively purify themselves is not only no one else’s business, but is also potentially extremely dangerous in terms of compromising a client’s commitment to sober living.
Sober living is a process whereby the individual does whatever they need to can do to free themselves of their addiction, and live a life free of the need to drink or take drugs.