Being clean can be the equivalent of being a dry drunk or putting white knuckles on your sobriety. Just because someone is clean doesn't mean they've treated their alcoholism. Quitting drinking is only the first part of an alcoholic's problem. Many in the recovering world have adopted the personality of a recovering addict.
It is possible for a person to become "clean" if they are willing to make this sacrifice in order to maintain new friendships, lovers, work, or status. Now that they have "clean time," they are a part of a community in which respect, adoration, business prospects, and popularity are determined by this factor. On the other hand, that person is not sober despite being clean. This sort of recuperation is fraught with peril.
It poses a risk not only to those who engage in the behavior but also to others who are working on their recovery. Those who are able to fight the urges of addiction but are unable to overcome the repercussions of their actions will always harbor resentment; this is one of the most prevalent challenges faced by people in the early stages of recovery. On the other hand, the definition of "clean" does not include sobriety, both in terms of maintaining sobriety over a long period of time and the basic idea of being sober. Stopping drug use is all that is required to get clean.
To get clean, you have to stop using it, and this is typically the point at which residential treatment or some other form of medical assistance comes into play. These types of programs are designed to help you overcome abstinence without developing any complications and gradually return to a normal way of life. When this "normalcy" starts to take hold, it is time to go on to the subsequent step, which goes beyond cleaning up one's system: becoming sober. There is no guarantee that early recovery will result in long-term sobriety. To express it as simply as possible, sobriety is most helpful when seen not as a synonym for the definition of "clean," but rather as a type of clarity. The Transcend Recovery Community's family of sober homes provides a safe place for those undergoing mental health and addiction treatment to live with like-minded partners.
Having clean, sober companions who also persevere in a sober lifestyle means having support for your way of life. Every true spiritual path offers a way, a method and a program to return to true life; to re-live life on the “terms of life”, to live sober.
