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A binge-drinking trend–Borg drinks, the latest social media trend today on Tiktok involving Gen Z, despite their obvious Star Trek reference, got their name from the phrase “blackout rage gallon”, where the idea is to mix alcohol with both flavored drink mixes like alcoholic beverages and electrolytes to make it both taste better due the flavor enhancer and to stave off the effects of mild alcohol withdrawal, which is also known as a hangover. The secondary idea is to create a specific name for each particular Borg drink. Each of these names should also involve a pun, and examples might include “Spongborg Squarepants,” “Borger King,” or “The Borgain Basement.” It has gained attention, both positive and negative, because of its novelty and its supposed benefits. Dr. Jill Grimes noted that the chief benefit is that people can control how much they drink and the amount of alcohol.[1] However, the unfortunate truth is that college students and college campuses can have a skewed idea of how much is enough, as can be seen by the need for 28 ambulance calls due to alcohol poisoning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in March 2023. Those cases of life-threatening alcohol poisoning were because of the risks of drinking borg drinks.[2]

What Is a Borg Drink?

The drink is mixed in an empty plastic gallon jug, such as that in which milk is sold. Vodka is the usual choice for the alcohol, while Kool-Aid, FlavorAid, or MiO powders or concentrates supply the sweetness and extra flavor. The third ingredient is usually an electrolyte replacement drink like Gatorade or something similar. Sometimes, students add a fourth ingredient that contains caffeine, such as Red Bull or Monster drinks. The use of caffeine masks the effects of alcohol, however. [3] It’s one reason where the myth about coffee sobering someone up came from. Even Dr. Grimes acknowledges that the caffeine and alcohol mixture is dangerous.

The Origin of Borg Drink

Ostensibly, the first borg drinks were an experiment that began in roughly 2018.[4] At that time, it was a drinking game and not a way to reduce the harm of alcohol. Regarding the origin of the term, there is no definable connection to the “Star Trek” franchise, despite the name. As stated, the term “borg” is short for “blackout rage gallon.” Some people do, however, cosplay while drinking borg drinks.[5] This, however, is more a function of college drinkers adopting the Borg persona to drink rather than taking inspiration from “Star Trek.”

Popularity and Cultural Impact

From the obscurity of 2018, the Borg drink phenomenon has exploded because of the popularity of TikTok.[6] As of the publishing of the Forbes article in March, there were 82 million views of the Borg drink TikTok channel. The TikTok explosion began in roughly 2020 during the pandemic, which led to the borg drink phenomenon becoming especially prevalent at outdoor parties, particularly during tailgating.[7] The gist of the phenomenon was that people could still drink during social distancing. The idea also kind of sold itself when the “reducing harm” trope started. However, as the Forbes article points out, binge drinking is still binge drinking. Also, the 28 ambulances in one night in Massachusetts bear that out.

How to Make a Borg Drink

The process is simple. Also, there are, quite literally, hundreds of web pages, YouTube videos, TikTok trend videos, and other media on the subject. You take a gallon jug made out of plastic. If it’s a water jug, then you empty half of it out and replace the rest with alcohol, electrolyte powder or liquid, and some sort of flavoring. If the jug contains milk, then you wait until the jug is empty and then fill it with a mixture of vodka and water. Then, you think up a name based on a pun and write it on the jug. You can use something other than vodka as well.

Safety and Responsible Consumption

We know that we’ve already mentioned the 28 ambulances twice already, but it bears repeating again. Even if someone doesn’t chug the entire Borg drink at once, a fifth of vodka is still the equivalent of 17 shots. And, if you remove half of the water and fill the rest with vodka, that’s roughly to 40 shots. A fifth is a fifth of a gallon. So, half a gallon is 2.5 fifths, and 17 x 2.5 = 42.5. Even drinking just 10% of such a concoction is enough to put someone of average weight over the legal limit for driving, and 10% of a Borg drink is 378 ml. That’s only slightly larger than a standard can of soda.

Further, many college students erroneously think that adding caffeine will reduce the effects of alcohol. That is a myth. Caffeine merely masks the effects of alcohol.[8] The old expression is that “You’ll be a wide-awake drunk.” By masking the effects of the alcohol, people won’t realize how drunk they’ve become, which can lead to them drinking far more than is safe. Drinking half of a borg drink that is half vodka, even in as much time as an hour, could be fatal. Read that again.

In short, there is no safe way to drink a Borg drink other than to sip it. In that case, mixing a much smaller drink makes more sense than making up a gallon batch of alcohol and additives. Making the smaller drink is responsible, but with the larger Borg drink, there really is no version of drinking it that is responsible.

Comparing Borg Drinks to Other-Themed Drinks

In the realm of questionable drink trends at college parties, the “dirty girl scout” is notable. With it, the idea is not only to pour the alcoholic concoction down the person’s throat but also to pour large amounts of alcohol over the person’s body and/or do creepy things to the person. Jungle juice is another famous example, and it includes many kinds of fruit juices, ostensibly to mask the intense alcohol percentage of the drink. The idea behind Borg drinks may not be nefarious like these other two examples, but it’s equally as dangerous.

The Future of Borg Drink

Many college students will always look for new reasons to drink, new things to drink, and new parties to go to. Borg drinks will likely continue to be a feature at many parties. There is practically no connection to actual “Star Trek” fandom, even if Borg drinkers dress up in costumes for their drinking extravaganzas. We hope that the trend dies out so that no one else winds up harmed or dead because of alcohol poisoning. Borg drinks are dangerous.[9]

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse mirrors its American counterpart in saying that more than two drinks per week is dangerous. A Borg drink can contain up to 40 drinks. More than those two drinks per week isn’t only dangerous when it comes to alcohol use disorder or AUD, but it can also cause an increased risk for certain cancers and stroke.

How We Can Help

At Long Island Treatment Center, we provide several services to help you with AUD. Namely, we can help you detox safely by monitoring you around the clock. We provide therapy that can help you learn to cope with the lifelong effects of AUD. And, we can put you in touch with 12-step groups that you can attend to get support from the community.

Remember, responsible drinking is two drinks per week if that, and not carrying around a half gallon of alcohol for a single night’s partying. AUD can affect not only your health but also your relationships with friends, partners, and family members. AUD is the loss of control over your drinking, and at that point, you certainly need help. Let us provide you with that help. So, if you’re avoiding other activities to drink, seeing other parts of your life begin to suffer, or even experiencing blackouts after a night of drinking, then give us a call as soon as possible.

References

[1] https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/what-is-a-borg-college-drinking-trend/
[2] https://www.today.com/health/news/umass-borg-drinking-trend-rcna75174
[3] https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/caffeine-and-alcohol.htm
[4] https://mashable.com/article/what-is-a-borg-tiktok-college-drink
[5] https://medium.com/@annapinata449/the-rising-trend-of-borg-drinks-is-this-dangerous-ed5e6e96dddb
[6] https://fortune.com/well/2023/03/07/borg-tiktok-binge-drinking-trend/
[7] https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/viral/tiktoks-borgs-college-parties-harm-reduction-rcna69521
[8] https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/borg-drinking-is-not-safe/
[9] https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/ever-done-a-borg-warnings-about-the-dangerous-and-excessive-drinking-trend-1.6291259

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Creating a safe and effective workforce is a top priority for employers of all kinds, both public and private. They are constantly looking for ways to improve productivity, reduce liability, and avoid workplace injuries. That’s why a pre-employment drug test is required by so many companies and government agencies.

If you’re dealing with a drug problem, this screening process is a source of real worry for you. Your efforts to improve your life and support yourself and your family finances are in real danger if you fail a drug test. If you can’t get a job, you may find your addiction spiraling further out of control. At the same time, getting hired while still actively using could financially enable you to deepen your addiction or, even worse, to cause an incident at work that gets someone seriously hurt or even killed.

You may have questions like these about how the drug test will impact you. Let’s review the likely answers.

What Will Happen If I Fail the Test?

The first and most obvious thing that will happen is that you will not get the job. If you had applied in hopes of moving away from your current job into something better, you would be forced to stay in the old position. If you were unemployed, you would still be without work after testing positive.

Perhaps the worst career outcome you may encounter is when the test was administered as you applied for a promotion or transfer. Failing will mean not only that you don’t get a new position but also that you are likely to lose the old position. If you have managed to keep your job despite a drug problem, you would be wise not to do anything that will require a test until you’ve eliminated your addiction.

Why Did I Fail?

In some cases, a failed drug test is no surprise. If you are tested shortly after use, you will already know the outcome before you get the official results. In other cases, you may be shocked to find out that you had a positive result.

Illicit drugs have varying lifespans in your body. THC can show up for weeks after use, while other substances break down sooner. Depending on the test that you take, you may fall into the window where these products are still present in your body.

Another potential issue is legitimate medication use. Because prescription drugs are so widely abused, most employers test for things that are perfectly legal to possess and use. The question, in this case, is whether the amount in your body is at a therapeutic level (that is, the test finds an amount consistent with what would be present when you have taken a dose that the doctor prescribes) and, of course, whether the prescription was written for you.

If your test shows a level above a prescribed rate, or if the rate is acceptable, but you cannot provide proof that you are supposed to be taking the drug, you will fail the test.

Will I Be Allowed to Test Again?

The answer to this question depends on why you want another test. If you tested positive for an illicit substance, the employer is unlikely to allow you to test again. If your test showed a prescription drug at too high of a concentration, you might have options. There is always the possibility that you accidentally took two doses too close together or some other honest mistake. If you can make a case for that and have evidence to back it up, you might get another chance.

However, if the employer has a policy against re-testing or if they simply have enough people who passed that it’s not necessary to give you another chance, you will probably not be tested again.

Another potential scenario where a new test is possible is in the case of legalized recreational and medicinal use of marijuana. If you live in a state where one or both are legal, you might have some leverage to get the chance to test again. However, you may have to wait so long that the employer will not be interested in holding the job. Marijuana use is legal throughout most of New England, so the issue is not whether you’ve been using it but whether you may allow it to impair you at work.

Will Records Be Kept?

If you fail a drug test while applying for a job, those records will stay with that employer. However, you need to keep in mind just how big that employer might be. If you fail a drug test administered by a state agency, for example, future applications at any other state agency could be linked to the failed test. The same may be true in the corporate world as companies buy out other companies, pooling their applicant data. A positive test has the potential to impact your employability for years to come.

How Many People Fail?

In 2019, roughly 4.5% of people failed pre-employment drug screenings. Because so many states have legalized recreational marijuana, that number will likely continue to rise. The bad news in that statistic is that employers are likely to double down on testing because it’s working; if nobody was failing, the tests might slowly be phased out.

The good news is that getting clean will become more and more beneficial as other applicants are eliminated from the competition, giving the clean and sober applicant a better chance of getting hired. So don’t look at increasing rates as evidence that you’re not alone as a user. Instead, view them as an opportunity to set yourself apart in the workforce.

Where Can I Get Help?

Whether you’re dealing with illicit drugs or a prescription medication problem, Long Island Treatment Center can help. Our team is trained and experienced in dealing with all phases of the recovery process, from detox to long-term support and care.

Missing out on a good employment opportunity is just one more way that drug use can hurt your future. Call us today to get started on your sobriety.

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Are you currently taking Accutane or Isotretinoin for moderate to severe acne and wondering if you can drink alcohol while taking the medication? The short answer is no. Both alcohol and Accutane are processed through the liver, and drinking alcohol while taking Accutane can cause liver problems. Let’s take a closer look at Accutane and alcohol and all the side effects associated with the two.

What Is Accutane?

Accutane and its generic, Isotretinoin, are used to treat acne that is persistent and remains after other treatments have been tried. It’s derived from vitamin A and can clear skin within 4 to 12 months. Most people experience clear skin in 4 to 5 months, and like most medications, Accutane has side effects. Those side effects can include:

• Dry skin
• Increase in headaches
• Increased sun sensitivity
• Itching
• Nosebleeds
• Pain in the joints and muscles
• Birth defects
• Liver damage

Most people who take Accutane also use a skin moisturizer to control the dryness and itching, and they use sunscreen to protect their skin against the harmful rays of the sun. The more serious side effects are birth defects and liver damage, which means your doctor or dermatologist will prescribe the Acumen and then monitor the levels of it in your blood via blood tests.

Dangers of Taking Accutane and Drinking Alcohol

Taking Accutane and drinking alcohol can increase your risk of experiencing liver damage. Therefore, most people should exercise extreme moderation if they plan to go out to the bar or stay at home and consume an alcoholic beverage. If you like to binge drink or are a heavy drinker, it’s a good idea not to drink at all while taking Accutane or skip taking Accutane until you are detoxed and sober.

Maintaining Liver Safety While Taking Accutane

Taking Accutane can be very hard on the liver. Therefore, prior to starting Accutane, your doctor will take a family medical history, personal medical history and look at all the medications you are currently taking to manage your medical conditions to make sure they won’t interact with the Accutane. If you have a history of liver problems, a family history of liver problems or are taking other medications that are hard on the liver, your doctor may recommend that you do not drink at all while taking Accutane. In some instances, your medications or family history may make you a bad candidate for Accutane without some significant lifestyle adjustments, and some people may simply not be good candidates for Accutane treatment.

What Taking Accutane and Drinking Alcohol Does to the Liver

It’s important to understand that just taking Accutane can damage your liver, and when you combine alcohol with Accutane, you are increasing that risk. Just taking Accutane by itself has been known to increase the lipids in the blood, increase cholesterol levels and increase triglycerides. The good news is that these levels tend to go back to normal once your skin is clear and you’ve stopped taking the Accutane.

Can I Drink Alcohol While Taking Accutane?

Due to the issues that damage the liver, alcohol should not be consumed while taking Accutane. However, you can consult with your doctor to determine if there is an amount of alcohol you can consume while taking Accutane. Most warnings include a statement to the effect that the individual should exercise extreme alcohol consumption moderation while taking Accutane. Since that term doesn’t have a precise definition, you’ll need to determine your personal number of daily or weekly drinks with your doctor or dermatologist.

What Are the Levels of Alcohol Consumption?

In order to begin the process of understanding how much you might be able to drink while taking Accutane, you can look at the definitions for moderate, binge, and heavy drinking, as well as the definition of heavy alcohol use.

• Moderate Drinking – Consuming 2 or fewer drinks per day for men and one or fewer drinks per day for women.
• Binge Drinking – Consuming 5+ drinks within 2 hours for men and 4+ drinks in 2 hours for women
• Heavy Drinking – Consuming 4+ drinks per day or 14 drinks a week for men and consuming 3 drinks in a day or 7 drinks in a week.
• Heavy Alcohol Use – Heavy alcohol use is considered to be binge drinking 5+ days per month.

It probably goes without saying that if you are a bring drinker, heavy drinker or participate in heavy alcohol use; you should either not take Accutane or not drink while you’re using Accutane to clear your skin of acne.

What To Do if You Need To Clear Your Skin but Also Drink Alcohol

It’s important to note that Accutane is typically prescribed after other treatments have failed to clear the skin. If you haven’t tried any other treatments, it’s best to see your doctor and/or dermatologist to discuss your options. During your consultation, you’ll want to honestly tell them about your drinking, including when, how much and how often you drink. This will help your doctor recommend the right skin treatment for you.

Who Else Shouldn’t Drink Alcohol

When it comes to drinking, those who are on Accutane or other medications deemed unsafe to use with alcohol aren’t the only types of people who shouldn’t drink. In fact, you shouldn’t drink alcohol if:

• You are not yet 21 years of age
• You have a job or hobby that requires operating heavy machinery
• You have a medical condition that interacts with alcohol consumption
• You plan to drive
• You think you have alcohol use disorder or have been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder.
• You’re trying to get pregnant or may become pregnant

The truth of the matter is that as alcohol consumption is increasingly researched, the more dangerous we know it to be. In order to maintain your health and wellness and stop addiction before it starts, you may want to completely abstain from drinking, even if you’re 21 years old or older. If you do find yourself in a situation where you’re drinking too much and unable to control it, there is help available so that you can regain your sobriety.

Getting Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder and Heavy Drinking

Taking Accutane to help clear your skin of stubborn acne isn’t the only reason you’d want to quit drinking. If your alcohol consumption interferes with your personal and professional lives, relationships, and health, it’s time to get help from a professional treatment center. Here at Long Island Treatment Center in Hicksville, NY, we can help you with our comprehensive alcohol treatment program. We offer medication-assisted treatment for detoxing and starting you on the path to your recovery. We also offer partial hospitalization (PHP), outpatient and intensive outpatient (IOP), dual diagnosis, and an aftercare program. We also have a special program for young adults.

If you have a family member dependent on alcohol or another substance, like heroin, cocaine, meth, opiates, or marijuana, our caring, compassionate, and knowledgeable staff can help. To get more information on treatment and start your recovery, give us a call today.

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The answer to this question is up for debate. According to the research, people speak the truth when drunk, and everyone believes these words are sober thoughts. People who drink alcohol encourage them to say what is on their minds and hearts. As people consume alcohol, their words become increasingly hostile and primitive. Everyone knew that drinking alcohol could be blamed for their actions, but now, blaming alcohol is not an acceptable excuse for bad behavior.

Specifically, the research tells us that alcohol does not make us lose control of ourselves, but it does make us less concerned about the consequences of our actions.

What Is Going on Inside a Brain that Is Addicted to Alcohol?

The brain’s neocortex has the job of examining the circumstances that are presenting themselves at the moment. Then, it decides the best course of action to take at any given time. When someone drinks, the neocortex cannot function in the same way that it functions without alcohol. Therefore, as the brain becomes intoxicated, it allows the person to act in alarming ways.

Researchers performed a study at the University of Missouri, where 67 test subjects were divided into three groups. One group consumed soft drinks, the second consumed placebo beverages, and the third group drank vodka-tonics. After they consumed their beverages, they were taken to computers to complete error recognition tasks. The results showed that these test subjects knew they were making mistakes because of the alcohol, but they didn’t care.

When people drink alcohol, their reasoning skills are not as strong, and they can’t visualize the consequences of bad behavior as easily as they do when sober. Because of this, an intoxicated person will readily tell the truth, but the truth will be rather brutal. The person will also express these opinions without hesitancy. People who do not fear the consequences feel free to say or do anything. This would not ordinarily be the case when they are sober.

What Neuroscience Says about the Question

You may feel as if your entire personality changes when you are drunk. That is the reason that people have a drink at social gatherings so that they can loosen up before they begin to socialize. Researchers at the University of Missouri Institute of Mental Health discovered that researchers did not notice a difference between their subjects when they were sober and drunk. They acknowledged the fact that a person’s personality is different when he is drunk. Still, they stated this is likely because we have seen examples of these personality changes in movies.

The fact is that alcohol affects the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the brain’s portion responsible for reasoning and judgment. Some people say alcohol does not bring what is already there to the surface. After someone drinks alcohol, it changes the brain and the person’s personality. Therefore, the words of drunk human beings are not their true thoughts.

Are Drunk actions Sober intentions?

As we look further into the answer to this question, we must acknowledge that alcohol loosens people’s lips when they ordinarily would remain quiet. However, a drunk person’s words are not necessarily the truth. That is because alcohol causes the following short-term effects:

Loss of Coordination

Alcohol affects the neurotransmitter known as “GABA” in the brain, and it prevents people from reacting to situations quickly. It also makes them clumsy, and when you drink, it can be difficult to walk. It can even be hard to stand.

Black Outs

Blackouts are known as “short-term memory loss.” Even though people black out, they can still function as if they are not experiencing anything unusual. For example, during a blackout, you may be able to drive your vehicle, talk to your friends or walk normally. You may not remember what you did or said during this time. This is why you may be horrified to learn about what you said or did the day after a blackout.

Low Inhibitions

Your inhibitions prevent you from doing many things which are very important in a civilized society. They are why everyone doesn’t always say the first things that pop into their heads. This would cause chaos very quickly. Ethanol is the element in alcohol that lowers your inhibitions, and it is the reason that many believe that alcohol causes people to say drunk words that are sober thoughts.

When alcohol lowers your inhibitions to become more sociable, it is a good thing, but it becomes negative when the person becomes an obnoxious jerk.

Are Drunk Words Sober Thoughts?

Inhibitions prevent us from expressing our thoughts truthfully, so people believe that someone who has been drinking alcohol is telling everyone how he or she feels. When someone drinks alcohol, this can cause a substance use disorder that leads to changes in the brain. If people have an alcohol use disorder, they may not be acting like themselves when they are drunk. To be authentic, they must obtain treatment for their substance use disorders.

Drunk words may be sober thoughts if the person is not a chronic alcoholic. If a person is experiencing a substance use disorder, you cannot take for granted that the person’s words accurately reflect how the person thinks or feels.

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Getting Treatment for an Alcohol Use Disorder

You or a loved one may have experienced the embarrassment of doing something your inhibitions would not have allowed you to do when you were sober. If this is the case, this is a great reason to obtain treatment for your substance use disorder. However, you also have many other reasons to cease your use of alcohol, and these are the long-term effects that alcohol causes, such as the following:

Cardiomyopathy

Long-term alcohol consumption often leads to cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease that prevents the heart from adequately pumping blood throughout your body. It is a condition that can cause a pounding or rapid heartbeat, discomfort or pressure in the chest, coughing while lying flat on one’s back, and shortness of breath.

Cardiomyopathy continues to get worse as time goes by and may lead to severe damage to your cardiovascular system.

Cirrhosis

Alcohol damages the liver but works to repair itself when it can. Unfortunately, the liver’s repair process leaves scarring, known as “fibrosis.” The scar tissue piles up and can interfere with the liver’s ability to function correctly. This causes several symptoms, including the following:

• Fluid buildup in the abdomen
• Swelling in the feet, ankles, and legs
• Loss of appetite
• Itching
• Confusion
• Jaundice
• Easily bruising or bleeding

Alcoholic Hepatitis

This serious disease is the second stage of liver disease, and it causes the following symptoms:

• Fatigue and weakness
• Vomiting and nausea
• Tenderness in the abdominal area
• Low-grade fever
• Loss of appetite

If you are experiencing symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis, it can cause death if you continue to consume alcohol. You must stop drinking alcohol at this point because you may develop the third stage of liver disease, liver cirrhosis.

Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

As the liver processes the alcohol you consume, it produces a chemical called “acetaldehyde.” The medical community knows that acetaldehyde is a carcinogen that damages the liver’s cells. This causes inflammation and prevents the body’s immune system from functioning to its full capacity. This is the first alcohol-induced liver disease stage leading to hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Help for an Alcohol Use Disorder

An alcohol use disorder is a long-term effect of abusing alcohol. Many people consume at least one alcoholic drink per day, so it is difficult for people to know when they have an alcohol use disorder. You can determine this by answering the following questions:

• Do you drink even though it hurts your personal relationships?
• Does alcohol make your physical or psychological conditions worse?
• Do you need to drink more alcohol to experience the familiar feelings?
• Do you drink rather than take part in activities you used to enjoy?
• Do you experience withdrawal symptoms when you don’t drink?
• Do you drink when it isn’t safe to do so?
• Do you miss work or school because you are drinking?
• Do you have cravings for alcohol?
• Do you spend most of your time drinking or recovering from drinking?
• Do you drink longer than you planned?
• Have you tried to stop drinking several times without any success?

If you can answer the above questions in the affirmative, it isn’t causing alarm. We can place you or your loved one in our alcohol treatment center at Long Island Treatment Center. With help, anyone can overcome an addiction, so contact us for help getting your life back on track today.

FAQ

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Addiction is a serious problem. Between 2014 and 2017, drug overdoses were the leading cause of death for 18-to-35-year-olds in Nassau County.

Many people struggle with their addictions alone. But anyone can get help.

There is no treatment plan for addiction that will work for everyone. One approach that can work is sober living. It is a drug-free housing solution that can help people transition from rehab into mainstream society.

One benefit is that you don’t have to travel far from home to receive it. Here is a quick guide to Long Island sober living.

The Basics of Sober Living

Sober living provides clean housing for people with addiction. Most people who live in sober living have completed treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation clinic. But other people struggling with addiction can stay in a sober living home.

Sober living homes are small, sometimes housing fewer than 10 people. A coordinator stays in the home, maintaining the safety and rules of the facility. They are a former addict, so residents can turn to them for support if need be.

A person sleeps and stores their belongings in the home. They can leave to go to work and attend family events. They can invite guests, but the guests cannot bring drugs and must leave at night.

Sober living homes can offer additional services. They can host outpatient treatment solutions. They can offer counseling, group therapy, and life coaching.

Sober living homes for only women are also available. Most women’s shelters do not permit drugs, so they can be considered sober living homes. But most shelters are for survivors of domestic violence, so go to an advertised sober living facility for help with addiction.

Sober living homes are not free. A person has to pay rent, as they would for an apartment. Most people have to pay out-of-pocket, though a few insurance plans may contribute toward their expenses.

A person can leave a sober living home at any time. They can continue to attend group meetings or receive outpatient therapy. If they relapse, they may be allowed to move back in.

The Best Sober Living Homes

Some sober living homes are better than others. A few are outright scams.

Avoid any sober living facility that claims it is free. If the facility looks rundown or has no safety provisions, do not go to it. The best homes do cost money, but you earn high-quality services in a safe environment.

Indeed, the very best homes offer recovery support. The home provides settings so people in recovery can share their stories. Many great homes run 12-step programs, but a great home can run informal group therapy as well.

The best homes offer support for clients who need help post-rehab. They help the clients find a job and get educated. They provide drug tests to show employers that a person is off drugs.

But the best homes should also watch over everyone in the home. Everyone should be tested for drugs on a regular basis. House meetings should be mandatory, and everyone should talk about their progress.

Sober homes do not offer services as extensive as rehabilitation facilities. But staff should be available around the clock. At least one person should live on-site, enforcing the rules at all hours.

Facilities should provide for a range of addictions. Some people are addicted to multiple drugs at once. The best facilities provide for people with alcohol, marijuana, and opioid addictions.

New residents should be screened before they enter. Someone should inspect their belongings, making sure that no weapons are there.

Staff should be sensitive to the culture and beliefs of all individuals. They should demonstrate compassion for LGBTQ+ individuals, providing services for them.

Long Island Sober Living

Sober living facilities are located in every major metropolitan area. There are several facilities in Long Island alone. The opioid crisis cost Long Island 8.2 billion dollars in 2017, so it’s important that many facilities are open to help the needy.

But it can be hard to tell which facility to go to in Long Island. There are a few things you can consider, in addition to the previously listed factors.

If you work in New York City, the staff should provide transportation for you to get there. Drug users can leave needles on public transportation, encouraging you to use them.

You should have access to parks and natural sites. Spending as little as 10 minutes in nature can improve your mental well-being. Long Island is dotted with state parks, and you should be allowed to visit them.

The facility should be located near where you lived. But it should be in a different neighborhood. Moving away gives you a new environment to grow in while avoiding the places you know where drugs are.

At the same time, you should be near your support system. Remain in contact with family and friends who don’t use drugs.

You should live with an organization that has multiple facilities. The more facilities they run, the more resources they have to provide for different addictions. Consider your options before pursuing any treatment plan.

Get Help Right Away

People who struggle with addiction feel like they’re on their own. But anyone can help with any kind of addiction. One way to get help is through sober living.

Sober living provides safe housing. A person can go to work and attend family events, then return to a drug-free space.

The best homes offer services on top of this. They provide group therapy and experienced staffers who work around the clock. They enforce safety guidelines, respecting the needs of each resident.

Long Island sober living is possible. Pick a facility that lets you connect with your loved ones and keep up with your personal life.