If you’re concerned about others knowing, find meetings that occur earlier in the morning or later in the day when you will not be missed from family gatherings. You mean you want me to go to meetings while I’m on vacation?! But consider what lengths you went to for purposes of your addiction?
YOUR NEW LIFE IS WAITING FOR YOU…
- For those who are single, divorced, or having family problems, the holiday season holds a magnifying glass up to these situations, leading many to reflect negatively on their life.
- I know, I know… it’s hard to make yourself call or text people through the holidays.
- This could be anything from a mocktail, your favorite soda, or even just water.
- We may also take a short walk, go sit in our car for a minute or take a short drive, or find another private place to reconnect with ourselves.
- So many of us have spent years pleasing others, only to drive ourselves deeper into addiction.
Discreet, flexible, and 100% online—Workit 90 is a recovery program that fits your life, giving you the tools you need to cut back or quit drinking. Courtney Todd is the digital marketing coordinator at Workit Health. She has a passion for raising awareness in the addiction treatment, recovery, and public health space.
- 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.
- Everyone has a wish list for the holidays, but far too often that list becomes a set of expectations rather than wants.
- Keep it in mind that you aren’t alone – there are millions of people around the world who are celebrating this holiday season sober.
- With nearly 30 years of sobriety under my belt, I have to admit that I have had to come up with a variety of ways to deal with others using around me.
- If the office New Year’s party is really all about drinking or other drug use, make a brief appearance or don’t attend.
- If your family tradition is to have a toast with alcohol such as wine, then you need to have an alternative to drink.
Surviving the Holidays While Staying Sober: A Personal Perspective
Call your local United Way or house of worship for information on help with holiday meals and gifts for children. In the end, the humility you gain will only strengthen your recovery. Maintaining sobriety can be especially hard during the holiday season when you can feel pressure from family or colleagues to indulge. Here are some ways to resist peer pressure and honor your commitment. This is the time where you probably have a pile of invitations awaiting your RSVPs. This in itself is enough to give anyone a little anxiety but how to actually attend these parties without the comfort of alcohol or drugs – don’t even get us started.
Keep a (non-alcoholic) drink in your hand
Find simple ways to say I love you without having to find the perfect gifts. Make a plan for how you will spend the money saved on alcohol. Perhaps you can donate some of it to a cause. You could sponsor others who cannot afford therapy or save for a trip or extra-special date nights. I’m not an addiction specialist nor am I here to judge.
Many local recovery clubs have meeting marathons during the holidays. Meetings are scheduled every hour on the hour. Use phone meetings if attending face-to-face isn’t a possibility. Tell family you’re listening to a game or podcast. Visit Al-Anon’s holiday link for details on the Al-Anon phone bridge.
Expectations set the stage for our feelings of entitlement. Nothing can lead us to entitlement faster than resentments. This time of year, there are countless opportunities to harbor, nurture, and rehearse them in our minds.
Remember, you will celebrate the holidays every single year. Your recovery will make it possible to sober holidays celebrate all future holidays with genuine health and connection. Maybe you are worried about your own drug use, or maybe you’re worried about the drug use of someone else.
I’m a registered psychotherapist, conscious parent, and someone who’s benefited tremendously from sharing a substance-free relationship for several years. Michael J. Rounds https://ecosoberhouse.com/ is the author of 10,000 Days Sober and an addiction recovery specialist at a correctional facility in Indiana. When you take the opportunity to connect with others—to see, value and honor their experience—you exercise empathy. You exist outside of yourself, and you begin to notice all the blessings your life already contains. And it doesn’t get more human, or more recovery, than that. If you come prepared to protect your sobriety, you should be able to outmaneuver addiction and avoid any potential relapses.
When you find yourself looking to Norman Rockwell’s image of the American family holiday, remember that even Rockwell didn’t match the scene. Instead, take an honest look at what you value most for your family’s season. If it’s time together, then make that the priority. If it’s relaxation and baking, make this the focus. Maybe this is the year for some new holiday traditions.