You don’t have to “want” to get sober to recover

by Uncategorized
you dont have to want to get sober to recover

If you told me 9 years ago that my life would be where it is today, I would have sworn you were crazy.  I had fully embraced the life of a drug addict, and resigned myself to a certain future of jails, institutions or death.  Nothing anyone said or did was going to change that. I’d already been through multiple arrests, probations, periods of incarceration, treatment episodes, failed relationships, loss of things I had once held dear.  It didn’t matter. I was going to do what I did, and saw no alternative for myself.

Even coming into my last run at treatment, I did not necessarily want to be sober.  The 2 choices were either rehab or jail, so I chose rehab. But I was not looking to be “sober”.  I didn’t even know what that truly meant, let alone imagine a life completely free of drugs and alcohol.  I knew that heroin was a problem in my life, that crack was a problem in my life.  But completely free of all drugs? AND alcohol?  That concept seemed so foreign, so utterly unattainable, that my mind could not come close to fathoming the gravity of what it actually entailed.  

Luckily, I landed at a place that was willing to take the time to teach me the true meaning of recovery.  Getting clean was the easy part, they told me, staying clean was the real challenge.  ‘But my problem is with drugs! Take drugs out of the equation and I’m going to be superman!’ I was under the impression that once I stopped using, all of the great talents I once had back before my active addiction would suddenly reappear in spades, and my life would go back to the way it used to be.  Not so fast, they said.  They reminded me that I had developed a lot of bad habits over my years of using, like laziness, dishonesty, cutting corners, poor diet, basically most every habit of unhealthy living.  Plus, I had problems before drugs even entered the equation. “The reason you started using drugs wasn’t because you had a problem with drugs, was it?” No, I suppose that wouldn’t really make sense.  But why, then?

After about a month, I physically felt 10x better.  The withdrawal sickness had passed, my skin had changed back from a pale grey to a more human looking shade, and I was able to engage in coherent conversation.  I had started working out, brushing my teeth and showering, and no longer floated through my day sporting a blank, empty stare. If someone were to have a 10 minute conversation with me, they would have no way of knowing I was a long term professional drug addict, that had lied to, cheated on, and stole from just about anyone who would let me close enough to do so.  From the outside, things looked great. But just below the surface, I was still a mess.

Over the years, I had developed a nasty habit of procrastination.  Guess what happened when the drugs were removed from my life? That’s right. I still procrastinated!  Procrastinated on my house chores, getting a sponsor, calling my sponsor, doing my step work, working out, eating healthy, setting appointments, returning calls, everything.  I would do it “tomorrow”, or “later”, just “not right now”, even though I usually wasn’t very busy. That procrastination led to dishonesty, and I had every excuse you could imagine locked and loaded at all times, ready to fire on anyone who would question my process.  This in turn led to anxiety, that either I would not complete what needed to be done, or that my lie would be found out. After the anxiety came depression, as I felt sorry for myself that my life had come to this, even though it was of my own making. I did not voice any of this of course, just told people to leave me alone.  Thankfully, they did not! They taught me about suiting up and showing up each day, handling my responsibilities as they arose, doing a thorough job at whatever I did, and how all of these things would actually help alleviate many of the root causes of my fear, anxiety and depression. This all didn’t happen overnight, but rather was basically an extended control study, where over time I began to notice the differences in how I felt and was actually able to correlate it with how I handled life.  Personally, this was one of the biggest revelations in my recovery process.

My other biggest issue I still seemed to run into after getting clean was my inability to take responsibility.  It was someone else’s fault that I started using, someone else’s fault when relationships ended, someone else’s fault that I got arrested, someone else was the cause of my depression, my anger, my anxiety, etc. etc.  The world and the people in it were doing all of this to me, and I was just an innocent bystander/victim of circumstance.  Over the years, this type of ‘me against the world’ mentality had served a purpose in my life, as it allowed me to avoid taking an honest look at myself that would require change. Change was hard, and I wanted no part of it.  Besides, you were the problem, not me! But it was keeping me mentally sick they told me, and until I was able to own my part, I would remain a prisoner of my thoughts and my resentments.  Day after day, week after week, my perception surrounding the circumstances in my life were challenged by the staff, and also by my peers. It was tough to hear, but gradually I began to see that maybe there was some truth to what they were saying.  The more I understood about it all, the more hard truths I was able to own, and the more free I felt. No longer was everyone else merely doing things to me, I actually had a say in the results. I was regaining control over my life!

Looking back at it, the truth is I may have arrived at these conclusions all on my own. I may have naturally overcame my clouded perspective and dishonesty.  I might gotten a sponsor.  I theoretically could have called him every day.  I speculatively may have decided to work the steps. I possibly would have stopped procrastinating, and there’s a chance I would have attended AA meetings daily.  Maybe it would be this run at sobriety? The next one? The 6th one 2 years down the line? Maybe. But when looking at all the evidence, the magic 8 ball reads as ‘doubtful’.  And with the way I was living, I didn’t have time to experiment with MY version of recovery. I was on a fast path to either imprisonment or death, and every day of being left up to my own devices was a gamble I couldn’t afford to take.  I’m eternally grateful for the path I was shown, and my belief in the effectiveness of structured sober living is exactly why I’m doing what I am today!

Being Older in Sober Living

by Uncategorized

I am what one could call a chronic relapser.  I first started trying to get sober in 2003 back in Canton Ohio.  I’ve made about every mistake one can make on my path to sobriety.  In the beginning, I knew that I wanted to stop drinking and using drugs but I wasn’t ready to put the work into it.  In Ohio, most of the people in AA were way older than me. I was around 23 at the time and these people were easily over 40. There wasn’t a lot of people my age trying to get sober and I felt like maybe I was too young to stop drinking.  I separated myself from them and had a hard time relating. I was focusing on the differences rather than the similarities. Drugs and alcohol were tearing my life apart but I also felt like there was a lot of “good times” that I was missing out on.  My drinking progressed to pills and then eventually heroin. To make matters worse I had a 4 -year- old daughter that I wasn’t showing up for and I couldn’t hold down a job. This would start a 14- year cycle of sobriety, treatment and relapse repeatedly.  The worst times of my life were still to come. It’s hard to put into words just how worthless I felt being addicted to drugs. I hated what I was doing to myself, my family and my friends. I wanted to stop and just live a normal life but I couldn’t and the years were starting to slowly slip away.    

      There were times that I put together some spotty sobriety and was sober continuously sober from 2011-2014.  I was working in treatment in west Hollywood and thought that I had finally had this thing beat. I was wrong and relapsed again.  This time I stayed out for a few years I ended up losing everything. My job, my car and my apartment. Most of all I was losing the support of my family.  After years of having their hopes raised and then crushed again they were starting to lose hope that I would ever get this thing. I couldn’t blame them.

    I came into The Last House sober living in July of 2017 and I was in bad shape.  I walked in with a little bag which had 2 pairs of jeans, one sock and two T-shirts.  That’s all I had left. I didn’t even really want to get sober again but I knew that I couldn’t keep living the way that I was.  I knew my life wouldn’t last long and if it did it would be a sad, lonely and painful one. The first thing I noticed was how much younger everyone was than me.  When I got back I had this feeling that life had passed me by. My friends all had jobs, careers and families and I was in sober living again trying to put my life together.  Here I was pushing 40 years old and i felt out of place. When I first started to try, and get sober in 2003 I felt too young. Now, these years had passed and I was feeling too old!!  I realized quickly that this was my disease and it was trying to do anything it could to separate me from these guys so I could build a case to go get loaded again. Good thing I didn’t stay in that mind set for very long!   Being at The Last House, I had plenty of opportunities to share my experience and all the mistakes that I have made in hopes that maybe these guys would hear something and in turn, not make the same ones. This state of mind helped me get out of myself and my head and turn things around.  Being one of the oldest guys in the house I became both an example of what can happen if you don’t get sober for a long time and someone for people to turn to for advice or guidance. I finally had something to offer! Something real and valuable. For the first time in a long time I felt useful.

     I am grateful for the experience that I’ve had this time around and with this house and the guys here.  I have built a lot of solid, long lasting relationships with them and I know that they have my back just like they know I have theirs.  There is never a perfect age to get sober. For some reason, I just couldn’t do it when I was younger. I’m not sure why. All I know is that it didn’t happen.  It is happening now and all those experiences were necessary for me to be where I am. I have learned over the last year how to connect with people and find common ground no matter how old they are. There is a bond that forms when one is around people who have a common past and common goals for the future, a brotherhood, and I have found that here.  

-Mike J.

A New Experience in LA

by Uncategorized

Scott Ames

I’m originally from Des Moines, IA which is the largest city in Iowa at roughly 200,000 people. This is where I grew up and when through high school and partially through college as well. I had tried getting sober back home multiple times whether it was to get my family off my back, to have a place to stay, or because the law required that I go to treatment to satisfy charges I had received. I went to several meetings across Des Moines, but I never felt like it was for me. I also was only doing it for a reason other than for myself. I went to jail time and time again, but as soon as I was given freedom, I was right back where I started even though I would swear off completely while behind bars. My family wouldn’t allow me to stay at their house anymore, so instead, I would find somewhere else to stay temporarily or sometimes I would even sleep at work. Even though my life was falling apart both externally and internally, I continued down this dreadful path. One day, my parents called to say they would give my one last chance and send me to a place in Los Angeles. I had been to California before to try to get sober but I eventually manipulated my way back to Iowa by buying a plane ticket home and doing it all behind my parents back. I told them I was coming home for a visit but instead packed up everything, thinking I would never return. Getting sober in Los Angeles is a lot different than Iowa. The meetings in Iowa were full of grumpy old timers who only complained about their crummy lives. I think that partially turned me off to the rooms. In LA, the rooms of AA are full of a much younger crowd and there are a wide variety of meetings to go to. When I landed at LAX, I was mainly excited to have a roof over my head and some food to eat. I had honestly accepted that I had caused so much wreckage in my life, that I wouldn’t be able to turn it around. The sober living that I arrived at was The Last House. The name of it was actually fitting considering my parents told me this was my last chance. Although the structure of the house was a little intimidating at first, I realized that what was asked of me day to day wasn’t very hard at all. The most challenging part at my stay, was going through the steps and figuring out how to live a healthy, manageable, internally happy life. I had ups and downs, trials and errors, but I found that’s what life really is. Fear had riddled my life to this point, and anytime I was faced with an obstacle or hardship, I would run. Facing my troubles head on is something I learned not only in the steps, but also at the house hearing feedback from my peers. The Last House is heavily based around unity and camaradery. From revamping my shot on the basketball court to taking trips to Mammoth mountain, I found gratification in things that used to bring me joy. The house also made me feel like I wasn’t the only one who was trying to put my life back together. Another crucial characteristic at the house was that people actually cared. I had been to many outpatients and other sober livings where how they communicated with me felt so fake and in-genuine. Throughout my stay, I learned how to balance everyday life, recovery and work. Once I completed the program, I was offered a job working at the house which I gladly accepted. This allowed me to not only give back, but also to witness significant change in others. One of the biggest gifts of the program was getting my family back. For so many years, I created so much havoc in their lives. Being able to make amends to them and be a part of their lives once again brought me peace of mind. I’m now present when we get together during the holidays and I’m a brother and a son. Today, I am financially self-supporting, I have hobbies that bring me joy, and I have a group of friends who are trudging the same road as I am.

 

 

What to Expect in Sober Living

by treatment

Entering a sober living home can be a little bit like the first day of school. Much like school, we know that the sober living facility will provide us with the tools we need to make a positive impact in our lives, and that through sober living, we can transition into the men we’ve always wanted to be– but it’s no secret that new experiences can be daunting if we’re not sure what to expect.

As a sober living home in the heart of Los Angeles, our sober living facility focuses on two concepts: providing a fun, program-oriented setting where residents can find purpose and progress in their lives, and building an environment where our men learn to flourish without depending on substances. We believe that getting sober means more than just living addiction-free. We believe that it means living independently, confidently, and boldly– and that’s just what we teach our men.

What can I expect in sober living?

The first thing to understand about sober living is that it isn’t a halfway house, nor is it a dedicated treatment center. It’s a place where men that are ready to better themselves come to get the tools they need to do it. Here in Los Angeles, there are plenty of distractions for a young man just getting sober. A sober living home like ours provides a safe space for our men to mature and develop so they can deal with those distractions without fear of relapse.

Furthermore, the sober living concept is one that’s deeply rooted in fellowship and unity. We know that defeating addiction isn’t a one and done process, and that it takes a village of support and guidance to help us continue through recovery– so that’s also a large part of what we provide here. As soon as our men walk through the doors of our sober living facility, they know they’re here for a purpose, and that it isn’t just about not using drugs. They’re here to make a difference in their lives.

When you enter the sober living community, expect to remain very much involved in your treatment. With the number of distractions in big cities like Los Angeles and practically everywhere else, it’s important that we make sure we stay in touch with treatment groups and rehabilitation programs, even if we finished the initial treatment process ages ago. By transitioning into a treatment plan in the sober living facility, we ensure that the good, sustainable behaviors we learned in initial treatment become habits that will stick with us when we’re living on our own.

Additionally, we should expect to have responsibilities in sober living– and lots of them. There’s no better way to learn how to become the best versions of ourselves than to learn concepts like integrity, accountability, and maturity. As grown men living with other grown men, we should expect to be held responsible for our actions, and to pull our own weight when it comes to chores and house rules. The way we see it in the sober living community, we’re all a team. Whether you’re from Los Angeles, Oakland, or somewhere on the other side of the country, what one of us does in the sober living facility affects us all. As we learn responsibility, we also begin to see just how important our actions are to others. Having responsibilities means we have to hold ourselves accountable for taking care of them.

Another big concept of getting sober is discipline. In Los Angeles alone, there are plenty of distractions that could knock us off the straight and narrow path if we aren’t careful. This is what makes discipline in sober living so important. Having discipline in our lives means we know how to control our actions, think before we act, and frequently weigh the pros and cons of our decisions before we make them. In sober living, we learn discipline by learning to adhere to the rules of the house. For instance, one rule here at The Last House is that we cook and eat most meals together as brothers. This means that practically on a daily basis, we’re all required to contribute to the day’s meal. This could include grocery shopping, setting the table, or cleaning up afterwards. Our contribution isn’t punishment– but it is a way to make sure we learn the value of hard work and teamwork. Being disciplined enough to follow the rules and help do something like prepare meals here in sober living helps us get used to maintaining structure in our lives after we graduate. Expect structure and discipline in sober living– because it works!

Finally, expect to work while you get sober. As young men, working to provide for ourselves or others should be as much a way of life as eating or sleeping. If that’s not the case before we enter sober living though, it certainly will become the case by the time we leave. Los Angeles is one of the world’s busiest cities, and there’s ample opportunity for us to contribute our unique skills and talents to the workforce. Learning the value of working for our own money now can help us start a habit of working, maintaining a job, and providing security for ourselves and our families in the long run. So Monday to Friday, to the office we’ll go.

Sober living is a rewarding method to learn how to become the best versions of ourselves we can be. The Last House is a Los Angeles-based men’s sober living facility that doesn’t just help men focus on getting sober, but provides them with the skills they need to become independent, courageous, and contributing members of society. Every man that enters our sober living facility has the potential to be a pillar in his community. We help him see the potential he had all along. Call us at 1-866-677-0090 to get started today.

Acceptance, Change, Knowledge: Dissecting the Serenity Prayer Part II

by mental healthtreatment

While the surface-level meaning of the Serenity Prayer offers powerful concepts like serenity, courage, and wisdom, it’s the deeper meaning of the Serenity Prayer’s core concepts that can help us apply its words to our recovery journeys more effectively.

As with everything in recovery, the more steps we take to give meaning to what we learn and practice, the more likely we’ll be inclined to continue learning and practicing even after we leave the sober living facility.

The first part of the Serenity Prayer asks for peace to accept what we can’t change. Acceptance is a huge first step in our recovery journey, because it’s only after we accept the inevitable that we can begin working on the things that we can change in our lives. When we ask God to help us accept what we can’t change, we’re removing the power of unsurety, doubt and control from our lives. When we accept who we are, the nature of addiction, and how it can be beaten, we return the power of our future back to the only ones who should have control of it: ourselves.

The meaning of change in the Serenity Prayer is action-based. Once we’ve accepted what can’t be changed, all that lies ahead of us is what can be changed. With a clear mind and nothing we’re still holding on to, we’re asking God to give us the strength to take action in our lives. Recovery happens when we give ourselves the green light to start sifting through issues and situations in our lives, sorting them out, and correcting them for the better.

Finally, knowledge lies at the crux of every action we take in recovery, and it’s fitting that knowledge brings up the end of the Serenity Prayer. When we ask God to give us the “wisdom to know the difference” between what we can and can’t change, we’re asking Him to show us the people that will help us discern the things about ourselves that we might not be able to discern by ourselves. We’re also asking Him to help us learn about ourselves. Each day is a day to learn something new about ourselves, and when we gain knowledge in recovery, we gain confidence and independence. When it comes to living sober, knowledge really is power.

At The Last House sober living facility, we strive to dive deeper into the Serenity Prayer to uncover meaning that can help us make the most out of our recovery journeys. Learning the power of acceptance, change, and knowledge in recovery helps make us more confident and independent as we walk our recovery paths. Call 1-866-677-0090 to get started with The Last House today.

10 Signs the Party’s Over

by Recovery

Most of us like a good party. There’s just something in our DNA that seems to make us enjoy hanging out with good people, having good fun, and not doing any work. Here in Los Angeles in particular, partying can sometimes feel like it comes with the territory of being a young man in one of the nation’s busiest cities– and there’s no denying that a good party can often seem like a great way to meet new people, make new friends, and unwind.

For many of us, though, partying could also spell danger– especially when it involves drugs and alcohol. When we begin abusing alcohol and drugs all in the name of a good time, what seemed to us to be innocent fun could quite quickly descend into something much worse.

While it is true that addiction treatment centers and sober living homes like The Last House are well-equipped to help us beat addiction, being able to identify the warning signs that tell us our “good time” may be putting our lives in jeopardy can ensure we get the help we need as soon as possible.

There’s nothing like a good Los Angeles party– but we don’t need drugs or alcohol to help us enjoy ourselves.

How can young men realize the party’s over?

As young men, it can sometimes feel like the luxuries we get to enjoy are few and far between. Between providing for our families, taking care of our parents, and handling our responsibilities, partying can almost seem like a saving grace after a tough day, a long week, or just hours of sitting in Los Angeles traffic.  When we drink too much or use any drugs, however, we’re not saving ourselves from anything. In fact, we could be putting our lives at risk.

A telltale sign that the party’s over is when we continue our substance use even after clearly experiencing negative consequences as a result. The National Council on Drug and Alcohol Independence names personal health, relationships, and jobs as the first three areas in our lives that we may see suffer from sustained substance abuse. Perhaps we’ve partied hard every weekend for a month straight, and noticed that our spousal relationship has become more volatile, received warnings from our bosses regarding our performance, or even started experiencing physical signs of strain like frequent headaches or nausea. If these indicators aren’t enough to get us to stop using, we may need to consider addiction treatment options.

Another sign that we may need help is when we find ourselves passing up opportunities to engage in other activities that don’t involve drinking or using substances. Medical News Today coins this action “recreational sacrificing.” There’s a good chance that substance use has begun to take over when activities we would have enjoyed or attended without question in the past have now become activities that we excuse ourselves from more often than not. With the amount of activities we can enjoy on any given day here in Los Angeles, if partying with drugs and alcohol seems to be the only thing of any interest to us anymore, getting sober likely needs to be a priority.

Tolerance levels are also vital indicators that addiction isn’t far down the road. As we continue to use drugs or alcohol, our bodies get used to their presence and begin to demand more in order to achieve the same highs. Where three tequila shots may have gotten us drunk a few months ago, we may now need double to achieve the same effect. As young men, the negative repercussions of tolerance are two-fold. Not only do increased tolerance levels indicate a need for addiction treatment– they also spell danger for our liver and bodily functions. The more of a substance we consume, the more damage it does to our bodies.

What we choose to sacrifice in order to use can also be a warning sign of serious trouble. According to a study found in the scientific journal Psychopharmacology, as we become addicted to a substance, our brains actually become rewired to take incredibly large risks and make incredible sacrifices in order to maintain access or a supply to that substance. If we find ourselves gambling away cab money to get one more drink– knowing we have no other way to get back home through busy Los Angeles traffic– an addiction treatment plan may be right for us.

Other signs that substance use has become a problem include going from casual partying to feeling like we need a substance to survive or deal with our problems, making excuses when others attempt to confront us about getting sober, manipulating others to supply or support our addiction, simply being unable to limit how much we use, and attempting to keep our use secret or hidden from those who care about us.

When we realize the party is over, addiction treatment and sober living facilities like The Last House are here to help young men focus on getting sober. Again, while everyone loves a good Los Angeles party, there can be a thin line between being the life of the party and risking our lives with substances.


The Last House is a men’s sober living facility in West Los Angeles that specializes in turning our young men into scholars and gentlemen. Through modalities that build confidence, camaraderie, and self-reliance, we help our men realize just how rewarding getting sober can be. Addiction treatment for young men isn’t always easy, but the journey to sobriety is always worth the bumps in the road. We know what our clients need to become the confident gentlemen they can be, and we don’t stop until they get there. Call 1-866-677-0090 to get started with The Last House today.

Serenity, Courage, Wisdom: Dissecting the Serenity Prayer Part I

by mental healthRecovery

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

For years, the twenty five words of the Serenity Prayer have acted as a guiding light for those of us battling addiction and our own inner demons. The words embody a few core principles of recovery, and many of us can even recite them by heart. It’s not the ease with which we can remember these words that makes them so powerful, however. It’s the meaning of the Serenity Prayer that makes it such a guiding light for us, and such an excellent tool to help us give context to why we take the actions we take in recovery.

To fully understand the meaning of the Serenity Prayer, we must first break it down into its three core concepts: serenity, courage, and wisdom.

When we ask God for serenity, we’re referring to inner peace, calm, and quiet. We’re asking him to help us let go of ego, anxiety, stress, and any other emotions or dispositions that can weigh us down and prevent us from seeing and feeling clearly. Serenity is a peace we can feel, and a comfort that relaxes us. We can’t control everything, and we can often change even less. Serenity helps us realize that that’s perfectly okay.

The meaning of courage in the Serenity Prayer is two-fold. We’re asking God to help us deal with the problems, inner maladies, and issues of life without relying on substances, and we’re also asking him to give us the strength to make the changes in our lives that can be hard to make. Getting sober isn’t easy, but with the courage to continue to better ourselves and make the changes we have to make for ourselves, we can keep pushing forward even when the road gets rough.

Finally, when we seek wisdom in the last part of the prayer, we’re seeking discernment. We won’t always know the meaning of everything that happens in our lives, but in praying the serenity prayer, we’re asking God to help us release judgment about ourselves, seek the right people for help making the right decisions, and understand what it is we need to change or accept. We’re asking for God to make our recovery path clear, and to give us the knowledge we need to make the choices that will determine our future.

At The Last House sober living facility, we understand the meaning and importance of the Serenity Prayer, and we encourage our men to apply its concepts within their recovery journeys. Serenity, courage, and wisdom are a powerful recipe for building powerful men. Call us at 1-866-677-0090 to see how we can help you today.

10 Benefits of Getting Sober Young

by Recovery

In his powerful song Starting Over, Macklemore croons some deep verses about recovery, relapse, and his journey to getting sober.

One particular verse stands out: “If I can be an example of getting sober, then I can be an example of starting over.”

As young men in recovery, getting sober is very much an opportunity for us to start over, as well. When we’re addicted, we can feel like our lives are falling apart. We lose friends, have little control over ourselves, and feel trapped in bodies that don’t feel like they belong to us. Getting sober is all about two things: teaching us how to get to the bottom of the issues that pushed us to using in the first place, and helping us welcome new life and new opportunities with open arms.

This is why here at The Last House sober living facility, we use every resource we can think of– including our prime location in Los Angeles– to help our men not just beat addiction, but truly embrace the idea of getting sober. Getting sober young means we still have our whole lives ahead of us, and that’s what makes the lessons we learn in sober living so important. We aren’t just learning to beat addiction, or how to reenter society. We’re learning how to live the lives of the men we always knew we could be.

What are the benefits of getting sober young?

Entering addiction treatment and sober living facilities as young men is a wise choice for a number of reasons, but the biggest reason might also be the most obvious: When young men enter addiction treatment, we’re saving ourselves a whole lot of future trouble. Even at our lowest point, our rock bottom is likely much higher than it would have been if we’d waited until later to start getting sober. In some cases, getting sober at a young age even gives us more time to repair some of the damage that might have been caused by our addiction. We could salvage our professional career, mend relationships, and get back on the right track, possibly without having to deal with the extra troubles that come with longer life.

The second benefit of getting sober young is that we have more opportunity to use our own experiences to help others. The young men in addiction treatment aren’t the only ones that have battled with addiction, but we might be the only ones that can connect with the other young men going through the same things we’ve been through. As young men, we can help others our age understand why they may need treatment, what addiction treatment is all about, and how empowering getting sober can be.

The third benefit of getting sober young, especially in Los Angeles, is that there’s so much more that we can enjoy. Los Angeles is the land of hopes, dreams, and everything in-between, and we have a front row seat to some of the most talented people, engaging events, and incredible ways of life in the world. When we get sober young, we can fill ourselves with the sights and sounds of a city teeming with things to do. Los Angeles offers endless opportunities to explore, create, and indulge ourselves, and being able to get sober as young men means we won’t have to miss a thing.

While we’re on the topic of Los Angeles, getting sober as young men here also means we have an ultimate platform to spread the power of the sober living community to as many as we can. With the stressors of fame, “making it big,” and competing for roles, gigs, and deals, many in Los Angeles turn to substances as a way to cope. As young men here, we’ve got the opportunity to meet people firsthand that are dealing with substance abuse, and connect with them to get them the help they need.

Another benefit of getting sober as young men is that we still have the time to truly explore ourselves and find our passions. When we’re addicted, most, if not all, of our time is devoted to using a substance. When we’re getting sober though, we have the time and motivation to find new activities to keep us busy, stimulated and engaged. As young men, the new activities that we begin to enjoy now in recovery can become passions that stay with us for a lifetime.

Other benefits of getting sober as young men include being able to forge lasting, meaningful relationships with others, being able to be present for life’s biggest moments, saving our bodies from future physical harm, being able to set an example for others that were in our shoes, and meeting some of the most genuine and supportive people we’ll ever know.

While ten are mentioned here, there are really countless benefits to getting sober as young men here in Los Angeles. At The Last House sober living facility, we help our young men realize these benefits and take full advantage of them. Life doesn’t end when we decide to get sober. It begins.

The Last House sober living facility in Los Angeles provides an environment that helps young men both get sober and become the best versions of themselves that they can be. Through addiction treatment modalities that foster brotherhood, courage, independence, and confidence, we teach our men how to grab life by the horns and own their recovery. When they graduate from the Last House, our young men don’t just live sober. They live powerfully. Call 1-866-677-0090 to get started with The Last House today.

Going to Sober Living for Addiction as a Young Man

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We’re humans, and as humans, we’re conditioned to want more out of life. We want more fun, more adventure, more enjoyment. One of the incredible concepts about addiction recovery  is that it teaches us that we can have “more” and lead fulfilling lives while being sober and without using substances.

As a Los Angeles-based sober living facility, we understand that the world often defines being “sober” as a boring way to live life. Practically everything that’s considered “fun” seems to be tainted by drugs, alcohol, or both. It’s the way big industry makes money– and it’s also the reason why there are 278,544 drug and alcohol related deaths among men every year. Here at The Last House, we ascribe to a different idea of what living “sober” is. We believe that sober living means making a lifestyle change that transforms us into confident, independent men ready to make the most of our lives. We believe that by fostering brotherhood and community, the young men that come through our doors can take Los Angeles and the rest of the world by storm when they graduate. We believe that living sober is the absolute best version of life, and that nothing else really compares.

Getting sober at a sober living facility helps us learn how to deal with life’s challenges as they happen, with the support of brothers and mentors to help us make the right decisions. When we focus on getting sober, we realize that we don’t have time to think about “what we may be missing”– and we really don’t have any desire to. Truth be told, with countless activities here in Los Angeles, we actually find that we’re able to both be more productive men and have more enjoyable and fulfilling experiences when we’re not using substances.

Sober living isn’t just a halfway point between addiction treatment and life outside. With the resources provided and the tools created here in the sober living community, young men in Los Angeles, New York, DC, and all over the country are learning how to make the most of their lives by realizing just how much strength they have without substances. Getting sober is a journey, not a sentence. It’s the most rewarding action you can take for yourself as a young man battling addiction, and sobriety will open up a world of opportunity that you never thought possible.

Here at The Last House sober living facility, we believe that getting sober is a gift, and we teach our young men to embrace the possibilities of a sober life. Situated in sunny Los Angeles, we provide a number of activities and resources for our men to learn responsibility, accountability, independence, and brotherhood. When our men leave The Last House, they’re not just not using. They’re leading more fulfilling lives than they’d ever imagined. Call us at 1-866-677-0090 to get started with The Last House today.

When is an Addiction an Addiction?

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Misuse/abuse. Regular use. Tolerance. Dependence. Addiction.

The stages of addiction might manifest differently based on the place or person, but misuse or abuse of drugs is still one of the most likely ways to start down the slippery slope towards addiction. In fact, the misuse or abuse of substances is so prevalent that the FDA indicates that “in 2017, an estimated 18 million people (more than 6 percent of those aged 12 and older)… misused [prescription] medications at least once in the past year.” While misuse is not the same as abuse, both actions are often our first foray into using drugs in ways that they aren’t supposed to be used. In misusing drugs, we’re using drugs for a purpose other than what they’re intended for, although we may not be necessarily be looking to get high. In abusing drugs, we’re using drugs for one alternative purpose: getting high.  

For some of us, misusing drugs for purposes that seem as innocuous as relieving a headache or getting over a cold can lead our bodies to crave more and more of the feeling the drug provides. In a very short matter of time, what was our attempt to self-medicate can lead right to regular use, tolerance, dependence, and then addiction. As for abusing drugs, if we’re willingly consuming substances with the purpose of getting high, then there, too, is only a matter of time before addiction becomes a real threat.

How is addiction defined?

Because misuse and abuse of drugs are not the same, yet often used interchangeably, it follows that many of us might also be confused as to how the other stages of addiction are defined.

To start, regular use is best defined as the point in which we begin to display a pattern of use. If we misused a prescription drug once, say for a headache, and liked the feeling, we may do it again– though this time not so much for the pain as for the feeling we get from it. Later on, we may try it once more. Eventually, we’re no longer using the drug for pain, but simply out of habit.

We might not be addicted yet, but we’ve reached the first phase– where drug use has gone from misusing to now using consistently.

At the next phase is tolerance. When we’re becoming tolerant of a drug, we find that we need more and more of it to obtain the same high that we used to get from a much smaller amount of it. If we abused a prescription drug just for the thrill of it the first time, because we liked it a little the second time, and maybe because we wanted some more the third time, by the time we reach tolerance, we’ve built up a habit of using the drug and our system now needs more in order for us to feel it. As we increase the amount of the drug we use, some of us actually begin to feel like we can operate even with a large amount of it in our system. This is why this stage can also be called the “risky use” stage. We can, in effect, become so used to having large amounts of the drug in our system that we feel like there’s nothing in our system at all. Some of us get behind the wheel, attempt to go to work, and exhibit outwardly dangerous behavior due to the drug’s now habitual place in our system.

Following tolerance is dependence, which is when our bodies begin to enter periods of withdrawal if we don’t have access to the drug we’ve misused or abused. Withdrawal is a combination of physical and mental symptoms that can be relatively mild or life threatening. The severity of withdrawals often depends on the drug, the user, and how long the drug has been in the system. When we’re dependent on a drug, we haven’t quite reached the stage of complete addiction, but we are dangerously close to it.

Finally, addiction follows dependence. What makes addiction different than the other stages is that addiction is a mental disease. Addiction results from a person taking a drug repeatedly, but the telltale sign of addiction is when that person cannot stop taking it. A great definition of addiction is that it is a state “marked by a change in behavior caused by the biochemical changes in the brain after continued substance abuse.” Unlike dependence, where we exhibit physical distress when we try to stop using, tolerance, where we need more of a drug, or regular use, where we’ve first started a habit, addiction is the culmination of all of the above. Using the drug becomes our main priority, at the expense of anything and everything that may get in our way. When we reach the point of addiction, whether our drug use started as a result of abuse or misuse becomes secondary. At this point, professional help is highly recommended to help get us on the right track to recovery.

Defining when addiction starts can be difficult, but at The Last House sober living facility, we help our men conquer addiction once and for all. We believe that addiction is wholly treatable, and that the sober living community can help men identify the underlying issues behind why they misused or abused a drug in the first place. We focus on brotherhood, unity, and responsibility here– traits that, when combined, can help a man transform into a better version of himself than he ever thought possible. Call 1-866-677-0090 to get started with The Last House today.