Peer to Peer Mentoring: 10 Benefits of Being Around Peers

We depend on our peers for company, conversation, and guidance when we need help most.

While on your journey to sobriety, you may find it helpful to spend time with people who share your desire to stay sober.

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at some of the benefits of both peer to peer mentoring and being around people share.

Peer to Peer Mentoring

Peer to Peer Mentoring

Too often, men are released from rehab and sent home, only to run into old friends or family members who are eager to help them relapse. Because they have only had 14 or maybe 28 days of sobriety, they find it too hard to stay sober.

Soon they find themselves back in the vicious cycle of abusing substances to avoid withdrawal, lying to loved ones, and feeling disappointed in themselves.
Fortunately, many men return to a treatment program with the hopes that this time they will beat their addiction.

There are facilities that recognize some people may need more than just a few weeks to overcome an addiction. The brain needs time to heal. The longer a person can stay away from substances, the better chance they have in recovery.

To assist men in gaining more recovery time, men sober living houses have been established. Sober living is designed to provide a safe environment, with structure and expectations, that help men transition from rehabilitation back into society.

Sober living homes allow you to be around your peers, which offers many benefits, including the ones listed below.

1. Shared Experiences

Each man in sober living has a story, an individual story filled with hardships, rewards, and individual ups and downs. Despite their individuality, men in sober living also share experiences.

They share the experience of addiction, it’s destruction, it’s power, the losses it has caused, and the struggle to overcome it.

2. Build Meaningful Relationships

Addiction, no matter what substance, replaces real relationships. The only relationship a man has is with his addiction. It comes before family and friends, even children. It takes up all his time and he feels like dying without it.

Sober living teaches a man how to build meaningful relationships without using drugs or alcohol. It’s a place where he can learn to trust again, as well as build empathy and compassion. These same life skills will help them after their transition home.

3. Relearn Important Life Skills

There are many more life skills than empathy, trust, and compassion. And sober living environments help those in recovery learn them all. Skills like self-awareness, critical and creative thinking, communication, problem-solving, decision making, and self-control are a few more necessary skills to aid in recovery.

The more life skills they can master, the better chance they will have at preventing relapse. They can also use these skills to become a role model for fellow sober living tenants.

4. Role Modeling

Role modeling means your behaviors are teaching others how to behave. In a sober living environment, men can role model behaviors of sobriety. For instance, showing up for appointments and meetings, showing up on time, completing chores and working the program.

Every role model needs a role model. In sober living, it’s just as important to learn how to pick the right people to follow as it is to lead. Learning this skill will be even more beneficial after leaving sober living.

5. Become More Independent

Addicts learn to find people they can depend on. They know who to go to when they need cash, food, a ride, and drugs. An addict could not be an addict with a dependent of some kind.

Sober living teaches men how to become independent. They learn to take care of themselves and meet their own needs.

6. Reduces Loneliness

Loneliness is a trigger for relapse. Why? Because drugs and alcohol work with the chemicals in a man’s brain, spiking serotonin and dopamine. This makes a man feel like he is not alone, that the substance is all he needs.

Living in a sober living environment teaches men how to reduce loneliness without the need to use drugs or alcohol. From simple substitutions like listening to music or playing a game, to have meaningful conversations, they can learn how to replace loneliness the right way.

7. Shared Responsibilities

Responsibility is not something an addict cares too much about when they are using it. Their brains won’t let them focus on much other than their drug of choice and avoiding withdrawal. But once they get sober, meeting responsibilities can help them rebuild.

Too many responsibilities at once can be overwhelming for someone just returning from rehab. This is where sober living can help. The residents share responsibilities, giving each man opportunities to carry their own weight but without overwhelming them.

8. Provides Accountability

Recovering addicts need someone to answer to, some form of accountability. In sober living, men can check on each other to make sure goals are being met, they are sticking to the program, attending meetings, or if they have stumbled.
Sober living also helps recovering addicts make themselves accountable. Men learn to seek support when they are struggling, ask for help when needed, and be truthful about where they are in their daily journey.

9. Men’s Sober Living Support Network Grows

Relapse prevention tools include building a support network. Men can start this process while in sober living. They can start making positive connections both in the transition home and in the place where they will go after sober living.

Support networks should include sponsors, counselors, sober friends and family. A support network cannot include anyone who is currently using drugs or alcohol. A man’s support network should also include locations of community support groups they can attend every single day of the week.

10. Support Groups and Family Therapy

Sober living homes offer support groups and give tenants access to individual and group therapy opportunities. These are essential for recovery.
Peer feedback and support can offer individuals and their families hope for success. It also helps a man to see that his family is not the only one struggling or dysfunctional.

Support groups are places where you can receive tips and ideas from other families who have succeeded in helping their loved one transition home.

Conclusion

Choosing sober living after rehab gives you more time to learn how to live a productive, sober life. One that is worth the battle. One that you deserve.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *