Sober Living Orange County

What is Sober Living?

Sober living is an optional service people who have completed a residential inpatient drug or alcohol rehab program can take advantage of. It is usually a group home configuration, with strict rules surrounding substance use, with multiple patients living together under the watch of addiction professionals. They are often located in quiet, peaceful areas to promote recovery. 

Orange County sober homes act as a vital bridge between rehab and everyday life, aiding individuals in adapting to daily tasks and responsibilities with abundant support to help maintain the path to long-term recovery, without reverting to previous habits. This is particularly helpful for those weaning off medications like Zoloft, ensuring a stable environment during a potentially challenging transition. An essential aspect to consider in this journey is understanding what is transfer addiction. Transfer addiction occurs when an individual replaces one addiction with another, like moving from substance abuse to another compulsive behavior, such as overeating or gambling. Awareness and knowledge about transfer addiction can equip residents and their support teams with the necessary insights to identify and address such issues promptly, ensuring a holistic approach to recovery within the supportive confines of sober homes.

These homes vary in the services they offer, their level of strictness, and the rules surrounding what residents can and cannot do while living there. Most sober living homes allow residents to come and go as they please, as long as they abide by the rules, like adhering to curfews and participating in random drug tests. People living in sober residences are expected to be responsible for their own recovery and daily living tasks, similar to living at home, like cooking, cleaning, and paying rent, all while managing their recovery process, such as weaning off Zoloft responsibly.

People most often move into sober living homes when they:

What is the Difference Between Rehab and Sober Living?

While inpatient rehab is a full-time program after alcohol and drug detox that provides each patient with an entire schedule of treatments, programs, and activities without interacting with the outside world at all, sober living houses in Orange County are more like accommodation. It is a house you live in as you return to normal life once you are released from residential detox and rehab. 

Sober living homes are excellent transitions from rehab to everyday life, helping you ease back into work, school, and taking on responsibilities, while dealing with stress and temptations, and staying sober. 

Is Sober Living a Good Idea?

Social and environmental factors are big influences on a person’s continued sobriety when they return home from rehab. Sober living is an excellent choice for anybody who feels overwhelmed by the idea of returning directly to their old life after going through a rehab program, for people who need extra support or care as they transition to regular life, and for people who do not have a safe, sober home to return to. Benefits of a sober living home include:

Can You Work While in Sober Living?

Most Orange County sober living homes will require residents to work, go to school, or be in an outpatient rehab program for the entirety of their stay. Depending on your abilities (speak to your therapist about this), you may want to begin working part-time, then increase your hours as you gain confidence in yourself. 

Your sober home will ask you to establish a routine and you will need to pay your rent and other bills (phone, food, etc.) on time every month without any financial assistance, so most sober residences will actually encourage you to find a job or return to your career. 

You will be able to learn how to live your regular life as a sober person. You will still be expected to attend therapy, groups, and other meetings, so it is important to ensure your work does not prevent you from getting to your mandatory treatments. 

If you enter a sober living home without a job, most places will help you with writing resumes, finding jobs to apply to, and working on your interviewing skills, usually allowing you to stay for up to a month as you search for work. If you are in a sober living home and not actively trying to get a job or working, you may be evicted. 

How Long Does Sober Living Last?

The average stay in a sober living home, according to the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, is between 166 and 254 days. Living in a sober home for this amount of time will help people graduating from rehab programs to find stable, sober-friendly housing, get used to living life as a sober person with full support, and resist falling back into old habits, including crime, substance abuse, unemployment, and not taking care of their physical and mental health. A sober home will keep a person who is fresh out of rehab on track in their recovery, resulting in a better chance of staying sober long term. 

Will Insurance Pay for Sober Living?

Because the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurance companies to include behavioral health and mental health and addiction treatment centers in their coverage, 60% to 90% of medical detox and rehab (inpatient rehab, intensive outpatient programs, and partial hospitalization programs) are usually covered by insurance companies. 

Unfortunately, sober living homes are not covered under this same act and are therefore not usually covered by insurance, although this depends on your specific policy. This is because sober homes are not treatment facilities, they are merely a safe environment you can live in after treatment. For this reason, sober homes charge rent and expect residents to cover their own expenses.

Costs of Orange County sober living homes depend on factors like:

Therapy and groups and other ongoing treatment and outpatient programs may continue to be covered by insurance while you are living in a sober home if they are for treating substance use disorders. 

Can Sober Living Kick You Out

When you move into a sober living home, you must agree to all the rules of the specific home, as well as the condition that if you violate the rules there will be consequences like making amends to another person in the home, punishments like writing an essay or attending classes or seminars. In some cases, you can be asked to leave the home or return to an addiction recovery center for further inpatient treatment. 

Orange County sober living home rules vary depending on the home, but they all have this rule in common: you must stay sober. You may not use alcohol or drugs at all while living in a sober home. You will likely take random drug tests and screenings and may not be allowed to use certain products like mouthwash or vanilla extract due to their alcohol content. 

Other common rules in sober living homes include:

1. Abiding by a strict curfew
2. No violence
3. No overnight guests
4. On-time rent payments
5. Paying your own bills
6. Participating in house chores and cleaning
7. Respecting others in the home
8. Attending meetings, therapy appointments, and support groups, demonstrating active efforts toward recovery
9. Being responsible for yourself is a major part of sober living, as addiction will cause a person to act irresponsibly. 
10. Most sober residences will require you to find work or go to school during the day, go to a treatment center, or otherwise establish a productive routine

Although some residences are less strict than others, it is important to remember that you are there for a reason, and although it may be difficult at times, sober living in Orange County will help you be responsible for yourself, be accountable, and gain the skills you need to live independently so you can remain in long term recovery. 

Find the best sober living in Orange County at Resurgence! #soberliving #orangecountyhttps://t.co/DyedWjSkzq

— Resurgence Behavioral Health (@RBHRecovery) May 5, 2022

Josh Chandler
After growing up in Chicago and North Carolina, Josh chose to get help with substance use disorder and mental health in California because of the state's reputation for top-tier treatment. There, he found the treatment he needed to achieve more than five years of recovery. He's been in the drug and alcohol addiction rehab industry for four years and now serves as the Director of Admissions for Resurgence Behavioral Health. Josh remains passionate about the field because he understands that one phone call can alter the course of a person's life.

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