By Sandy Baker

Find Your Future with Transitional Living

Overcoming drug and alcohol addiction will be one of the most challenging times of your life. When you step into a residential treatment program, and away from your family and life, you enter a void. This is a safe place. There are not as many triggers, and the environment is very positive.

Once you work through the program, however, you may become worried about what’s next. Even if you have a home to go to, you may wonder if you can maintain your sobriety there. This is when transitional living makes sense.

What Does Transitional Living After Addiction Treatment Offer?

The benefits of transitional living after addiction treatment are numerous.

• These locations provide an opportunity for you to maintain your sobriety by being in a safer environment than at home.
• You’re close to people who can support you.
• You can work towards improving your health and creating your future.

When you enroll in our transitional program at the Ranch at Dove Tree in Lubbock, Texas, the program provides you with the ability to explore your future, including where you’ll live and work. You also are surrounded by people who have gone through what you are facing, including the fear of starting over.

Who Will Benefit from Transitional Living?

Not all people who come to our drug and alcohol addiction program in Lubbock need to enter transitional living. Many people are okay to go home to continue their care as an outpatient after receiving residential service. However, other people strongly benefit from being a part of these programs. Here are a few key reasons why you should consider living here.

Your Home Life Isn’t Ideal

Many people coming to inpatient drug or alcohol treatment don’t have the stability they need at home to stay sober. Entering a residential program like this becomes necessary because the risks of using again are too high. Ask yourself these questions about your home:

• Has anything changed since you were there that would limit your ability to stay sober?
• Do you have family members that may be willing to offer drugs or alcohol to you if you asked or begged for it?
• Are there individuals within your home environment that could potentially encourage you to continue to live the same lifestyle?

If your home isn’t safe or if there are triggers there that could encourage you to use again, don’t go home. You need time to get stronger before dealing with these challenges.

You Need More Accountability

Men and women leaving drug and alcohol treatment are far better off than when they arrived. Yet, they may still need more accountability to help them stay sober.

In a transitional program, you’ll have a team to help you in several ways:

• You will always have someone who is going to hold you to your promises and make sure you do what you say.
• Many times, there’s a curfew that’s designed to encourage you to maintain good habits.
• There are professionals as well as other members of the home recovering with you and holding meetings on a regular basis to support each other.
• There are rules, but there’s also a bit more freedom for you to be yourself.

Transitional living, in this case, helps you to start to take care of yourself while still following some pretty strict rules. This may help make you more successful.

You Want Someone Who Understands

One of the most promising benefits of transitional living is that you’ll be surrounded by people who know what you are going through every single day. Though many people outside of rehab may say they understand, no one truly gets it until they are there, living in the trenches, and battling the same thoughts and worries that you are.

Peer support, going both ways, can offer some key benefits to you. For example:

• You have someone to speak to who is going to support your desire to not use, but can also handle the hard and difficult thought patterns you have.
• Peer support means you are gaining access to information and guidance from people who have navigated factors ranging from child visitation to finding a job.
• There’s no judgment of the challenges you’re facing.

Learn More

Transitional living can be a powerful tool because of each one of these key factors, but it remains a very personal decision. It is also one you should make with your team of professionals and your sponsor. Take a closer look at how transitional living at the Ranch at Dove Tree can give you that push you need into a safe environment.