Sober Living for Residents of Oakland: Choose Muse

Sometimes going home isn’t a good option for people who are just leaving an inpatient rehab program. A lack of stability and support can become a huge obstacle for sobriety, and relapse may occur. Some common addiction triggers include:

• Emotional distress or feeling unsafe
• Relationship or work problems
• Feeling misunderstood
• Memories or being in a specific place
• Feeling judged, attacked, or invalidated

These triggers can cause distress, compulsive behavior, or feeling hopeless, and lead to relapse. A sober living home is an excellent drug-and alcohol-free option for anybody who wants an intermediary step between rehab and independent living, because you will be in the company of constant support through the difficult times, without the temptation of drugs or alcohol in the house.

Muse addiction treatment center offers referrals to top-rated sober living housing programs for residents of Oakland, California. After leaving our rehab facility, you will begin an outpatient program with continued counselling and therapy, alongside other aftercare like peer groups and access to our sober alumni community. Social and environmental factors are important in recovery success, and a sober support system will help you avoid feeling isolated and improve your chances of staying sober.

An important part of any recovery is a continued treatment plan. Healthy coping mechanisms are learned in rehab, but putting those plans into action in the real world may take extra support.

Sober living homes typically have strict rules and requirements that must be followed, a structured environment, and support so you will never feel alone or lost in your recovery. You can reinforce the lessons you learned in rehab, while you transition back into normal life.

• Some of the rules a sober living home can have include:
• Mandatory drug testing
• Involvement in house chores and rules
• Active participation in recovery meetings
• Curfews
• On-time fee/rent payments
• No drugs, alcohol, violence, or overnight guests

If rules are violated at these homes, there are consequences. You are expected to be accountable for your own actions, and take responsibility. With these firm boundaries, combined with the support and community found at Muse Treatment and its alumni groups, you will be able to commit to a healthy, independent lifestyle without the use of alcohol and drugs.

There are many benefits to sober living with Muse Treatment. A sober home can help you with things like making amends to people in your life, finding a job, finding housing after treatment is over, and moving back to living in an unstructured environment.

When you are living in a sober home after leaving an inpatient program at Muse, you may transition into one of our outpatient aftercare programs. Depending on your needs, you can spend up to six hours a day, seven days a week in aftercare. We have a partial hospitalization program which is heavily structured, filling your day with programs and offering strong support from our expert staff, but shifting the focus onto your own personal responsibility. We have an intensive outpatient program, where you will have the freedom to create your own schedule so you can attend to other responsibilities in your life like work or family, while still attending therapy and groups. There is a virtual version of the intensive outpatient program offered at some Muse locations, where therapy sessions happen online.

Our large alumni community is always there for you as well, and often host gatherings, reunions, and other get-togethers to foster sober friendships and offer mentorship and support.

Through all the Muse programs, alongside staying in a sober living home, you will never be alone in your recovery. There will always be somebody there to offer support when you need it.

Muse Treatment is the best choice for sober living in Oakland, because along with referrals, we provide continued support through customized outpatient program options. At Muse Treatment, we ensure you remain connected throughout your recovery to a positive and sober community through our aftercare programs, designed to fit your lifestyle, however you require, from our very structured partial hospitalization program to a more relaxed outpatient program that works around your school or work schedule while still providing the support you need through meetings and therapy.

Our staff uses trauma-informed practices to ensure you feel safe and involved in every step of your recovery, and through Muse you will have access to our sober alumni community. They provide opportunities to make new, sober friendships, and find new activities to do that don’t involve drugs or alcohol. We host alumni barbecues, outings, and reunions often, keeping you in touch with a sober community.

Staying in a Muse recommended sober living home, connected to our extended outpatient programs and alumni, you will never have to feel alone in your recovery.

There are specific, gender-based issues that come up in communal living situations, and sometimes the relationships between men and women can be complicated. There may be a history of abuse, there may be specific gender-related trauma, and there are childcare needs that women are more likely to need to address than men. Many women face different underlying causes and co-occurring issues than men when it comes to addiction.

Staying in a women’s only sober home can help women to feel more free to communicate on a deeper level, express emotions, understand one another, and relate to each other’s problems. A women’s only sober home will foster an environment of female empowerment, which will create opportunities to build confidence without, create independence, and gain skills to live on one’s own.

Some women will feel safer without the presence of men in their home. A women’s only home will create an environment that avoids stereotyping about “women’s work” or “women’s problems”. Needs won’t be ignored or silenced, and there will be no sexual harassment. Gender-specific stigmas associated with women and addiction can be addressed, and gender-related triggers can be avoided.

A safe atmosphere is important for a healthy, happy life, especially when a person is feeling vulnerable and going through huge life changes, like becoming sober. For many women, a women’s only sober home can provide a comforting place to grow and thrive as a newly sober person.

When in addiction recovery, men face their own specific issues. Sometimes violent outbursts and impulse control issues come with the first few weeks of sobriety, and some men can find having women in the same home to be a distraction or cause insecurity or discomfort when discussing issues of sexuality, crime, violence, and mental health. In these cases, the best scenario is a men’s only sober living home, as the sole focus should be on staying sober, and working on recovery skills and living independently, without distraction or self-consciousness.

In a men’s only sober home, men have peer support with a male perspective as they learn to deal with fractured relationships, emotional issues, and trauma. They can make male friends, creating a strong network of peers with like-minded sober people, and combat the stigmas surrounding addiction together, like the perception that addiction is weak or unmanly, because of the loss of control associated with it.

Addiction is not a weak person’s problem, it is a disease that can affect people from any age, class, gender, or background. It is important after detox and rehab to have the continued support and structure you need to maintain your sober lifestyle and learn to live independently, taking accountability for your actions, and responsibility for your life. Whichever type of housing works for you, Muse can help you find a living situation that will be beneficial. You will be supported, not only in the sober home you choose, but also through our various outpatient programs and with our alumni network, for as long as you need.