During holidays, volunteer to help prepare meals or decorations. Keep your schedule filled with activities that you genuinely enjoy. We’ve been conditioned to pop a bottle to celebrate good news, to “cheers” with booze, and to use alcohol to let loose and bond with our loved ones. Sobriety means relearning how to have a good time without drinking.
Tips for Staying Sober This Holiday Season
Whether it’s no alcohol around you, needing to leave an event early, or avoiding specific topics of conversation, be specific and clear. Recovered is not a medical, healthcare or therapeutic services provider and no medical,psychiatric, psychological or physical treatment or advice is being provided by Recovered. Ifyou are facing a medical emergency or considering suicide or self harm, please call 911immediately.
Be Selective About Which Events to Attend
You can create a relapse prevention map that you can refer to throughout the event. Having a plan can help you feel confident in your choice. For some people in recovery, the holidays can be tough. But you can make it to January with your sobriety intact. You don’t have to let unfulfilled expectations, stressful family dynamics, or crazy in-laws threaten your recovery.
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Morgan is tips to stay sober a mental health counselor who works alongside individuals of all backgrounds struggling with eating disorders. Morgan is freelance mental health and creative writer who regularly contributes to publications including, Psychology Today. Maybe this year the Christmas budget is slim because of the ravages of addiction. Instead of dwelling on the number of gifts under the tree, focus on the experiences you create. Research has proven that experiences are more valuable to children than objects. If you can’t afford to buy each child the latest tech gadget, think of a Christmas experience you can manage within your budget.
The holidays aren’t just about celebrating — they’re also often about giving gifts. Financial strain is a common stressor during the holidays. If you aren’t ready to share your sobriety journey, having a story you’ve rehearsed a few times can help quickly stop conversations about drinking. “Ask for a nonalcoholic drink like a mocktail or something that might look more alcoholic so no one knows that you’re not drinking,” Rollins said. Rollins said that having a nonalcoholic drink in hand all night can stop others from offering to fetch you a drink or pressuring you to have a full glass.
Find Ways to Reduce Stress
Getting through the holidays sober can be a challenge, particularly for people in early addiction recovery. Here are some tips and resources for preventing or responding to addiction relapse during the holiday season. Some families might consider the holidays an inappropriate time to help a loved one get into addiction treatment when, in fact, it could be an ideal opportunity. For many of the reasons mentioned earlier, substance abuse tends to ramp up over the holidays.
Make this holiday the last unsafe holiday for you and your family. When the drinks start flowing around us at holiday parties, it’s easy to feel like we’re missing out on the fun by not imbibing. In moments like these, it’s so important to fast forward in our brains to how we’ll feel tomorrow if we drink. But staying sober and then getting to wake up with no hangover and no regrets is always worth it. The holidays can make it tough to stay sober, especially with all the parties and get-togethers where there’s usually alcohol around. It can also be stressful and carry a lot of social pressure.
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- Look to the people you trust who will stand by your recovery program.
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- But it can alienate people who are sober, and that sense of isolation can become another trigger.
- Then you can give a valid excuse without any hesitation.
- After all, the holidays can kick off a perfect storm of family and money stress.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER LuxuryBeachrRhab.com is not designed to deliver medical care or direct guidence but rather is offered for self-education. No content or facts on this site are suitable as sole reference in the diagnosis and/or treatment of particular illnesses. Summer holidays are a great time to try new outside activities. Consider setting up outdoor games, such as badminton or cornhole.
Trying to Stay Sober This Holiday Season? We’ve Got You Covered
But https://ecosoberhouse.com/ it can also be a very stressful time, particularly for people in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. 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. The holidays are a really lonely time for many people. For those who are going through a difficult time in their lives, the pressure and expectation that this should be a “merry” time of year can sometimes amplify those feelings of sadness. Add onto that being the only sober one surrounded by people drinking at a holiday party, and the feelings of isolation can be very real.
Moments when friends ask why you’re not indulging in the spiked eggnog, or insist that you participate in a champagne-fueled toast on New Year’s Eve. You are free to skip a year and focus on yourself, specifically on your health and well-being. The best way to manage triggers is to avoid them altogether, especially early in recovery. Keep building on your recovery foundation and reevaluate the party invites next year.
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