What to Expect From a Sober Companion

More often than not, sober companions know how to keep you on the recovery path because they’ve been where you are. Many are in recovery from addiction themselves. Sober companions are often compared to sponsors, and they do have many similarities. However, a sponsor is more akin to a close friend that you can call anytime, day or night, when you need some encouragement. A sober companion does a lot more than that; hence why they come at a cost. The price of these services can run more than $1,000 a day, per The New York Times.

A good sober companion will:

• Remove drugs and alcohol from your home environment

• Keep watch over you during recovery for behaviors that seem out of the ordinary

• Encourage you to take advantage of the healthy habits you learned in treatment

• Monitor whom you associate with

• Help you bond and reconnect with family and loved ones

Recovering from addiction involves more than just detoxing and going home. You have to dig deep to find out why you chose a life of substance abuse and to learn how to avoid making the same poor choices in the future. Going home is a big adjustment that comes with the responsibility of making major changes in your life.

Sober companions can also act as a facilitator to get you back in the good graces of those you love most. Perhaps you burned a few bridges and hurt some feelings on your path to self-discovery in treatment. The new you might feel remorseful and truly sorry for the things you’ve done in the past, but you may not know how to express those feelings well or cope with your own emotions when confronted by family and friends. A sober companion can help you to cope in a healthy way.