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The holidays can be exhilarating, offering an opportunity to reconnect with people you haven’t seen in a long time. But don’t lose touch with your mental or emotional state in the holiday frenzy. Set yourself up for successful sober holidays by checking in with yourself. If you’re feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, or HALT, for short, then you can take steps that will help you feel better before you go. If you’re feeling especially vulnerable, you might want to reconsider attending.
So, even if it’s with all the best intentions, avoid extending an alcoholic drink to any friend on contact. The process of reaching your destination and the possibility of being around people who don’t support or understand your recovery journey can be challenging. If you’re traveling over the holidays, book a hotel room or stay with (sober) friends for the duration of your stay if possible. Your family might insist that they have plenty of room to host you, but you’ll likely need the space to be by yourself after family gatherings. Doing so can help you decompress and maintain your commitment to dry holidays.
OUR DAY JOB
You aren’t alone, and you don’t have to feel unsafe. Call a local treatment center like Into Action Recovery Centers or a local crisis line. Make this holiday the last unsafe holiday for you and your family. Below, you’ll find all of our best tips and stories about staying sober for the holidays.
For many people, the holiday season is a time to relax and let loose. There’s an increased focus on family, friends, and festive activities, all of which can trigger memories of past drinking or drug use. Add to that the pressure of gift-giving and attending parties, and it’s no wonder that so many people struggle to stay sober during the holidays. It’s more likely that sitting around family and friends can increase the likelihood that you will misuse substances. For that reason, pick up a healthy and new activity this holiday season to jumpstart staying sober during the holidays. To avoid reverting to unhealthy habits, be intentional to make self-care a priority.
What You Should Do If Your Relapse
You might need help preparing yourself before and processing the experience after you attend a holiday party. Attending a 12-step meeting or connecting with a sponsor both before and after an event will provide you with the resources to navigate the whole experience successfully. If you feel like you’re struggling to cope on your own, don’t be afraid to reach out for additional support from a qualified mental health professional. I spent the first day of 2017 horribly hungover and never had another drink. Six years later, I’m going into this year’s holiday season booze-free.
It could be a fight in the family, or an embarrassing incident at a party, or an accident while driving, among many more. You may not experience a hard bottom, but you may have tried to manage your drinking during the season and discovered that you couldn’t do it. Countless people have made the commitment to a new way of life free of alcohol and drugs during the holiday season.
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The holidays can be a fun and exciting time of year, but also a stressful and emotional time as well. Here are 10 quick tips for maintaining your sobriety, and sanity, during the winter holidays and into the new year. When you find yourself looking to Norman Rockwell’s image of the American family holiday, remember that even Rockwell didn’t match the scene.
And, if you’ve built your world around alcohol, odds are your relationships and memories are tethered to the bottle. You may not even remember past Decembers without memories swirling in snow and liquor. Each holiday season, millions of Americans successfully maintain their sobriety by having a plan in place to sober holidays avoid and manage triggers. As a part of your recovery plan, it is important to know how to properly cope with the relapse triggers that the holidays so often bring. Manage them as they arise so that you do not find yourself face-to-face with relapse. If you encounter a familiar, dangerous situation, walk away.
Recovery Coaching
Having a sober friend ready to call for advice or a ride home is always prudent. This will be my sixth sober holiday season, but my loved ones know that when I say it’s time to go, it is time to go. Setting firm boundaries with friends and family is critical and not having them can lead to relapse. It’s important to say no to activities that you’re not comfortable with.
- Know what your biggest triggers are (whether people, situations or environments) so that you can steer clear of them and not enable unnecessary temptations.
- SGS is not a recovery programme, we are peer support and offer content, online community, merch and The Sober Girl Society Handbook.
- That’s what a recovery friend called Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.
- It might present to be beneficial to remember that reaching out for help is an act of vulnerability.
- If things get too overwhelming, know when it’s time to leave.
Most people with addiction expect their upside-down world to immediately turn right side up. If you’ve been misusing alcohol or drugs for a while, your brain may need several months or even longer to set itself right. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-addiction-treatment-how-to-make-alcohol-recovery-sustainable/ And if you experience Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) when the weather gets bleak, acknowledge that fact. Post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) is a group of symptoms resulting from abstinence from addictive chemicals.
DecCelebrating the Holidays While Sober
“In Spain or Italy they might drink on a night out, but they don’t binge in the same way,” she says. On top of that, you can’t attend your home group meeting, and you haven’t heard from your sponsor in two days. Here are seven tried-and-true tips and strategies that will prepare you for the holidays, help you avoid relapse and protect you from any uncomfortable situations. By hatching this holiday escape plan, you will ultimately excel in having sobriety protected. It’s no surprise that family gatherings and holiday-themed parties are often full of alcohol and the act of individuals offering you a drink. If you relapse, seek out your support resources as soon as possible.
Below, find seven tips from experts in sobriety for doing just that this holiday season. You may be tempted to join the children’s table if your adult loved ones are in the “party” mood. And with your clarity of mind, you will win the Scrabble tournament. Sober holidays are tailor-made for good old-fashioned fun.