Avoiding Triggers and Saying No to Temptations

by addictionRecovery

recovery temptations

No one asks to become addicted. It is not a desirable state to be in, nor does it present any long-term benefits that could potentially make its pain worthwhile. It is not cool, nor is it hip, and it certainly does not absolve you of your responsibilities. Addiction is agonizing, excruciating, and incredibly debilitating. Unfortunately, no one gets to choose whether they become addicted or not. Addiction knows no race, gender or ethnicity. If you use substances, you are at risk of becoming addicted to them. Point blank.

Addiction recovery by way of a certified treatment center is very effective in reversing the effects of addiction, but not in the way you might think. At an addiction recovery center, you are not scared out of using, pumped with other medications to make you forget about using, or tricked into not using. Instead, addiction recovery teaches you to feel and think, by doing things like teaching you how to avoid your triggers and showing you how to say “no” to the temptations that will inevitably come your way after you leave the facility.

The great thing about the addiction recovery process (and one of the reasons it is so effective) is the fact that the skills that you learn throughout the recovery process are specifically designed to help you excel outside of the facility. And at The Last House in particular, we emphasize a skill set that helps you not only excel, but thrive as a gentleman and contributing member of your community when you leave.

To truly avoid temptation, it would be ideal to be able to physically avoid the people and environments that used to trigger you at all costs. Unfortunately, that is not realistic. You cannot necessarily refrain from visiting bars, places where you may have used, or streets that you may traveled while using substances all the time, but with the help of a sober living home, you can learn to mitigate the effects of these places or anywhere, anytime, anyone you encounter which might be a “trigger” to you. At The Last House, we teach the importance of self-reliance, self-motivation, and self-sufficiency, so that when these temptations come up, you have no need or desire to indulge. “Out of sight, out of mind” isn’t a bad motto for avoiding temptations. Being a strong, independent man with the confidence to say “no” is a powerful, powerful way to live life as well.

After building your confidence and charisma through our programs, you will find that triggers and temptations can be much more effectively kept at bay. Sober living is a simple and practical solution that will help you push forward with your recovery and your life as a whole.

While avoiding triggers and temptations in recovery can become second nature, it is almost impossible to do if you are still struggling with addiction. Here at the Last House, we’d like to help you take the first step to the best days of your life. Call us at (855)998-5278 today!

The First Step is the Hardest: Transitioning from Treatment to Living in Recovery

by Recoverytreatment

The First Step is the Hardest: Transitioning from Treatment to Living in Recovery

Addiction treatment is one of the most empowering experiences anyone can go through. You enter as a man on a mission, determined to make the most out of your opportunity and to truly rid yourself of addiction, once and for all. You work your program, participate, engage, and learn more about yourself in three months than you may have ever learned in years prior.  You make friends, and these people become the ones that help you get through some of the process that’s a little harder for you to digest. Then, in the span of just a few months, you’re done. You feel enlightened, energized, and ready to tackle anything world throws at you. Sometimes, however, in between tackling treatment and tackling the big wide world on your own, you need a little extra push. Concepts that might have sounded awesome in theory at the treatment facility might seem  a little more difficult outside of that environment.

That’s where our team at The Last House comes in. We’re a sober living house that specializes in making that transition stage not just important, but valuable.

It’s hard enough to take the first step in anything, but recovery can be an even trickier process than most. The world is a big place, and there’s so much out there that we could never prepare ourselves for everything, no matter how hard we tried. Frankly, if you leap right from addiction treatment to life on your own, it can be hard to tell if you’re going to be alright. Things shouldn’t be this way, though. There shouldn’t be that degree of uncertainty that makes us wonder whether treatment was worth it, if we are going to be able to resist temptation, or if we have what it takes to apply the principles we learned in treatment to the great unknown. Our job at The Last House is to take that fear, and to turn it into excellence. We are here to make you the very best version of yourself, by putting you in an environment where you can learn from potential mistakes, get to know other men that are also transitioning out of treatment, and form lasting bonds with peers that will be there for you for years to come. We help build you up, so you can help build communities. With us, transitioning from treatment to recovery is not a chore, nor is it nerve-wracking or fear-inducing. It is, quite literally, an experience of a lifetime.

How do we change your transition process?

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says that “generally, for residential or outpatient treatment, participation for less than 90 days is of limited effectiveness, and treatment lasting significantly longer is recommended for maintaining positive outcomes.” Basically, it takes some time to do recovery the right way, no matter if you stay at a facility for the duration of your program, or if you recover at home. Many times, addiction is an illness that has been with us for years before we get treatment, and while intensive treatment can definitely help us get rid of the illness, it takes trained professionals from a sober living house to pick up where treatment ends and help guide us to where life begins. At The Last House, we are focused on doing just that, specifically by building men into  independent, collaborative, confident gentlemen that are both intuitive and discerning. We don’t spend a lot of time sugarcoating things, because that isn’t what the world is like. We encourage transparency, honesty, integrity, and, most importantly, brotherhood. These are the pillars of who we are, and they become the pillars of every single man that walks through our doors. We change the transition process by allowing our men the freedom to make mistakes, correct them, and learn how to do it better than the next time. The strong men in our programs don’t have to worry about falling, because even if they stumble a little bit, they have their brothers right beside to pick them up.

We’re here to make a community– a tribe, really– of men that are so well-prepared to get back out into the world that when they do, they truly don’t end up as just normal, contributing citizens. They are extraordinary. They are confident, bold, and courageous. They are self–aware, empathetic, and a joy to be around. We turn the transition process into a training ground. Men enter, perhaps unsure, maybe a little timid, and leave true warriors, having overcome addiction and ready to take on any challenges life may throw at them.

Everything that we do here at The Last House is tailored for our clients to find renewed purpose in life, even more than they had before they were addicted. We focus on aligning mind, body, and soul, and on the importance of self worth, self-reliance, and self-awareness. The brotherhood that we foster in our men is organic, and leads to incredible results. Men need other men to help them make such a big life change. It empowers them, stirs them up, and lets them know that things are ok, because the ones around them aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

It’s hard to put into words the enormous impact that we have on our clients, but, suffice to say, there’s a reason we are Los Angeles’ premium men’s sober living facility. If you’re looking for direction, guidance, and brotherhood in your life, look no further. Call The Last House sober living today at (855)998-5278!

Building a Tribe in Recovery

by addictionRecovery

Building a Tribe in Recovery

Recovery is as much of an individual effort as it is a collective one. As you will learn throughout recovery, having others to share your thoughts, dreams, and goals with is fundamental to an efficient recovery process.

There are a few ways to ensure that the people you surround yourself with after treatment are individuals who will champion your recovery and support you when you need it most. That’s why at The Last House, we ensure that you are surrounded with other strong, independent men that are going through very similar life experiences. In our eyes, brotherhood is one of the most important bonds you can make in recovery, and we strive to incorporate the spirit of collaboration in everything we do at the facility.

The first thing to be sure of when choosing friends, colleagues, or individuals to hang out with is that there is a consensus on the types of activities you all will engage in. Of course, at The Last House, our structured and focused paths ensure that you don’t have to worry about deciding activities, but you will inevitably make friends outside of our program as well. Be sure to choose activities with these friends that, like here at our sober living facility, support and promote your recovery process. If you suffered from alcoholism, for instance, bars, pubs, parties with liquor, and even events as seemingly innocuous as wine tastings aren’t the best idea. If you recovered from substance addiction, it is wise to avoid the places you used to frequent, and swap them out for activities like soccer, or pickup basketball.

Additionally, you must understand that the world goes on in sobriety, meaning, you will not be able to change the activities of others around you. That’s why here at The Last House, we teach our men to be strong enough and confident enough in themselves to live in accpetance, and still live life to the fullest without being tempted to compromise their sobriety. There’s nothing quite like the tribes of hardworking, intelligent, confident men that we work so hard to build here at The Last House. By learning to collaborate, learn, and love with them, you’ll be well-equipped to handle whatever life throws at you.

Good friends are hard to find, but they can make your journey to sobriety that much more worth it. If you’re struggling with finding your way after treatment, you are not alone. Find your tribe here at The Last House, and learn to make recovery work for you. Just dial (855)998-5278 any time of day or night. We can’t wait to meet you!

Recovering with Grace

by addictionmental healthRecoverytreatment

addiction recovery

Many who have successfully recovered from addiction count the mental struggle as one the most taxing of the entire recovery process. Our mindset is of utmost importance when it comes to determining whether or not our journey will be a successful one. The most important question in determining an individual’s aptitude for a successful recovery becomes one of whether or not they are truly mentally and spiritually ready for the process. While there is no definitive way to answer this, there are steps that can be taken to bolster readiness and ensure as smooth of a journey as possible.

In learning to recover with grace, it is important that you fundamentally understand that your treatment was just one step in a long recovery process. A lot of individuals are not ever able to truly recover because they, for whatever reason, cannot accept the fact that a lot more work must be done after treatment to make sure they’re ready for the everyday world. If you don’t accept this, it’s easy to play the blame game post-treatment and forget that treatment can only go so far. While shifting the blame on treatment may help to temporarily assuage guilt or responsibility, it contributes to the wrong mindset. If an individual opts for recovery, he must understand exactly what it is he is getting himself into. At The Last House, our sober living facility programs provide that baseline knowledge, and significantly help with the process of adjusting from treatment to everyday life.

The second step in recovering with grace is acknowledging that recovery is not an overnight process. Many people acknowledge that they are still recovering from addiction decades after treatment. Though they may not have touched a substance in years, they understand that every day presents an opportunity to get a little stronger, and that recovery is a never-ending process. Likewise, those that are just beginning the recovery process must not anticipate total transformation in a day’s time. Preparing yourself for a gradual process ensures that your mind stays focused on goals and milestones of the journey.

The third step in recovering with grace is ensuring that you keep your mind, soul, and body aligned throughout the entire process. While this is significantly easier to do in the care of a treatment facility, it can become rather difficult outside of the facility, when in the comfort (or confines) of your own home. That’s where The Last House comes in. Our sober living facility bridges that gap between treatment and home, and provides the tools you need to stay aligned throughout your transition. Here, you’ll learn just how much remembering to eat healthy, staying active both physically and mentally, and setting attainable goals for your physical, spiritual, and mental well-being can positively impact your recovery. Recovery is very much mental, but it also requires that the rest of your faculties be at peak performance.

Recovering with grace starts with step one: making the transition from treatment to the rest of your life. The Last House is here to help you not just make that transition, but to make the most of it. Call us at (855)998-5278 to start your life changing path today!