Considering spending a few months in a halfway house? Well, it can be a wise thing to do. You have just completed your rehab. You still do not feel completely ready to go back to society. It is normal to feel this way. What you need right now is a sober and safe place to build your strength and lay the foundation for a brighter future.
Let’s know what a house truly is
Many people harbor misconceptions about the house. They think it is some kind of prison. Some think they cannot live normally in the house. It is some kind of a grim place with ex-addicts all around. Of course, the house has ex-addicts, but they all are working towards building a wonderful life for themselves.
Good houses let inmates live a normal life just like they do back home, except for a few things. They are curfew timings, fixed meal timings, attending therapies, and so on. Back home, you may not follow a routine. In a house, you must. According to experts, following a routine not only makes you more productive as you are able to accomplish more in 24 hours but also keeps you busy. No wonder people are more likely to relapse in a home but not in a house!
It’s true that not all houses are worth it. But it depends on your choice. Choose the best house, and you get the best results. Online Halfway House Directory can be a great tool for searching for reputable houses near you.
A sober facility can be a fine place to be. You can stay here for three, six, or twelve months, depending on your recovery needs.
What can I do and cannot do in a house?
You can do your own thing in a house. You are not a prisoner here. Of course, the things that you CANNOT do include:
- Drinking and doing drugs
- Fighting with other inmates
- Skipping the assigned chores, meetings, and therapies
- Breaking the curfew
- Staying in your room all the time
- Not complying with the other rules of a halfway house.
For a person who is serious about changing their life for the better, it is common sense that he or she will not do the above-listed things. This is because by doing them, it’s you who loses. You block your chances of complete recovery. Even before that, the management will evict you immediately. Most houses have a zero-tolerance policy towards breaking the rules.
In reality, a house is a normal place with a positive and peaceful ambiance. You can follow your daily life here. It is no prison. In fact, the fixed timings of waking up and sleeping, having meals, and so on make your life more productive. You will realize that you have more time to do things that you want to do. You would hardly get time here to waste.
But yes, you will certainly get the free time where you can either take a nap, relax, read a book, play sports, listen to music, play an instrument, or do whatever you like.
Ask an inmate of a halfway house in Nebraska, and he/she will most probably say that living in a house is more organized. You may behave irresponsibly at your own home, even shirk responsibilities, fight with others, sleep till noon, wake till dawn, and do all kinds of unproductive activities.
But in a sober facility, you get no chance to do these.
You must be responsible, wake up and sleep on time, build a rapport with everybody in the house, and make the best use of time in the house. You must learn accountability, humility, respect for others and for yourself, and tame your cravings.
In some houses, you are required to find a job.
For people who go out to work, time flies in a house. In between the routine, meetings and therapies, and their job, they hardly realize how months went by. Most importantly, they become completely free of cravings! Now, they have no time for useless activities such as drinking, doing drugs, and likewise. They are more focused on creating a better life for themselves.
To put it in one sentence: living in a house makes you a better human being who is ready to embark on the journey of a sober life.
Don’t dread routine; it’s your road to freedom
Many people dread the strict routine of the house. But little do they know that this very routine plays a significant role in making them a person with strong character, accountability, and self-esteem.
As the famous American philosopher Will Durant said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
How’s life: depends on how you see it
Everybody has a different perception. For some, a house in Nebraska might seem a boon, as it gives them a chance to start life afresh. For some others, it may seem like a prison where they must spend time living with strangers, doing boring chores, and attending monotonous meetings. Some people can’t come to terms that they must live under curfew despite being an adult. While there are some, who understand the importance of it.
It’s the way you perceive life in a house.
Reports on recovery in houses depict that inmates who followed the rules and routine of the house and made sincere attempts towards recovery came out completely changed. Their families and friends were shocked to see them. They became more mature in thinking, more organized, highly productive with a sense of time management, and, most importantly, they were completely sober. Most of them had a vision for life. They were more emotionally stable.
So, if you are in the transitional phase and planning to live in a house for some time, march ahead with confidence and resolve for long-term sobriety.
