Blog | Second WakeUp House + Redemption Place

5 Transformative Benefits of Extended Sober Living

The transition from addiction to lasting recovery involves various phases and one of the most crucial phases is the stay in a sober living home. Typically, the longer the duration in sober living can significantly benefit long-term sobriety. SOBER LIVING HOMES PROVIDE A BRIDGE Sober living homes provide a bridge between the highly structured environment of treatment centers and the autonomy of fully independent living. They should offer a safe, supportive, and substance-free living environment for individuals in recovery. HOW LONG SHOULD SOMEONE STAY IN SOBER LIVING? The duration of a person’s stay in a sober … Read more

5 Journaling Secrets for Lasting Recovery Success

Journaling more than a therapeutic activity; it can be a catalyst for growth, self-discovery and lasting recovery success. In addition, it pairs nicely with step work. The journey to sobriety is a courageous one, filled with challenges and triumphs. The noise in our brain can be triggering. When before, we could quiet that noise with drugs or booze. Now that you’re sober, it’s loud. Finding effective tools to aid the healing process and quiet the noise is essential. Beyond just putting pen to paper, journaling can be a building block for your recovery journey, helping you cultivate new healthy habits … Read more

8 Proven Benefits of Living in Community

There are stellar benefits of living in a community that improve your health, your pocketbook, and your outlook on life. Block parties gained popularity in the 70’s. They were often held outside among the neighborhood houses, providing fellowship and sharing food with your community. Houses were built closer to the roads with large front porches offering a welcoming environment to neighboring visitors and inviting more sociability with your community. Things have dramatically changed since that era. Many homes have fences that reduce the odds of visitors, community gathering, and camaraderie with your neighbors. It became more common to gather in … Read more

The Company You Keep

What company do you keep? In our days of using drugs and alcohol, our choices weren’t always the healthiest. We were pulling all-nighters, developing poor habits, and spending time with lousy influences. The days were a blur and there was a lack of motivation to change. The company we kept was not encouraging us along our recovery. Our friends can have a major impact on us, whether we know it or not. When we spend a lot of time with those that have a distaste for change/ improvement or disdain for Christ, we can easily pick up their attitudes and … Read more

Ways to Cope with Seasonal Changes

As the summer is drawing to an end, have you noticed your mood sinking into a negative tailspin? Or feeling more sluggish, unmotivated, and unhappy? For anyone one who has a drug or alcohol addition, seasonal changes can have a direct impact on their recovery. With most who have a substance abuse disorder, the hardest part in their recovery is dealing with triggers. Changes in the weather can leave us feeling unbalanced, unable to control, or associate it with an unpleasant memory. Entering into summer can bring the urge to go out and have drinks with old friends, and as … Read more

Building Resilience

Life can feel unstable, stressful and uncertain. Cultivating resilience can help you stay sober, positive, grounded, and experience growth. Let go of the need to control. Yikes! When we finally recognize what we can’t control and let it go, there is a huge sense of relief. It’s out of your hands, not your responsibility, and you cannot control the outcome. Stress and worry melt away and allows you to focus on what you can control in that moment. Ride the turbulent waves of your emotions. Bottling up your emotions causes tension and will result in an unexpected outburst (believe me, … Read more

Patience is a Virtue

When was the last time your patience was tested? Not waiting for the stoplight to turn green or waiting your turn in line at the drive-thru coffee stand, but truly endured through a lengthy season of patience? Currently, many of us are in a season of forbearance that has no predictable end. COVID has swept the globe, racial tensions are stirring emotions, and a heated political presidential election is around the corner. When we live in a culture that is quick-paced, get-results-now, microwave, high-speed, we don’t want to be inconvenienced and we definitely want to know the outcome in a … Read more

Hungry vs Boredom

We are definitely living during a unique time in history. Something that children will read about in history books and memories that pin-point us directly back to this time when someone mentions “COVID-19” or “Shelter in place.” Most of us are no strangers to stress, anxiety, depression, and boredom, but are now at an all-time high. Especially in recovery, we need to be diligent with how we are managing our stress and/or boredom. Our routines are completely thrown off. People who have had a structured 9-5 job are now finding themselves at home full-time, kids are usually in school and … Read more

Business as Usual

Many are sharing helpful, healthy ways to stay busy at home while quarantined during theses strange times of COVID-19 and some have asked us how we are ‘passing the time.’ Some suggest home workouts, meditation, baking, read a book, have a dance party, Netflix binges, etc. Meanwhile, our lives continue as normal (despite a few mild inconveniences), if not busier than normal. Our work continues… Many of us create our homes as a place of refuge and recuperation, where we can relax, unwind, and leave all the troubles of the day behind us. But Christians need to have a totally … Read more