Recovering from addiction isn’t easy. Believe or not, bringing a pet to rehab can be of great benefit as you transition from rehab into a sober living facility.
Having a furry friend can make a big difference in your recovery process, regardless of whether you’re fresh out of rehab or have been sober for months. Let’s take a look at a few ways a pet can help provide comfort to addicts in a sober living house.
Pets Help With Loneliness
Spending weeks or months in sober living can be a lonely experience. It takes time to adjust, and most addicts spend their time around other people who still use or who are in recovery themselves. A pet offers unconditional love, as well as constant and reliable companionship.
Pets Help Reduce Depression and Anxiety
Getting and staying sober isn’t easy. This is a time when both your mind and body are trying to cope with a new lifestyle. Recovery often causes the addict to experience depression and anxiety. Pets can help with this by providing comfort, companionship, and joy.
Pets Help Make Social Connections
Having a pet is a great conversation starter. When meeting new people in your sober living home, having a pet makes it easier to meet other animal lovers by providing something to bond over.
Addicts often live in isolation, and dogs help get you out of your room and involved with other people, both at your facility and in the world in general.
Pets Help In Developing Responsible Behavior
A big part of life in sober living is learning how to function in society again by doing normal adult things like paying bills, saving money, planning meals, and keeping your space clean. Having a pet gives the addict something to take care of. Keep in mind that being responsible for a living creature other than yourself is a very healthy part of life.
Pets Help Improve Overall Health and Wellbeing
Addiction is a terrible disease. Recovery is about traveling down the road to a more healthy lifestyle. This includes eating right, getting exercise, being social, and surrounding yourself with the right kinds of people.
Having a pet in sober living can help with all of this. Taking your dog for daily walks is great exercise and can obviously be a blessing to your social interactions. Not to mention the health benefits achieved by the reduction of depression and anxiety as mentioned earlier.
Going Through Recovery in a Sober Living Facility With a Faithful Friend
Staying at a sober living facility is an important part of the recovery process. Anything you can do to make your stay less stressful will make it easier to remain focused on recovery and reduce the odds of relapse.
Pets are companions that love you no matter what, never failing to provide encouragement and security even in the toughest of times when it begins to feel like recovery is an impossible task.
Click here to learn 3 healthy coping skills to help you stay sober.