Sharing rides with friends who will want to stay the entire evening is too risky if we begin to feel uncomfortable. The greatest gift you can give yourself or your loved ones is recovery. If you’re struggling with alcohol or drug use, there is help. Reach out to our navigators at today to learn more about our different levels of care. If you’re worried about paying for rehab, our navigators can discuss rehab payment options and help you verify your insurance coverage for addiction recovery.

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Sober Holidays Tip #15  Remember that being in recovery doesn’t mean instant heaven or a perfect life. Not everyone has a family or friends to be with during the holidays, a time of year when particular focus is put on socializing and spending time with loved ones. 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.

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Each retreat is designed to target specific needs and recovery goals and can https://ecosoberhouse.com/ be customised for individuals, couples, families, or groups, ensuring a truly personalised experience. Whether it’s frying up latkes for Hanukkah, or crafting Christmas ornaments around the fireplace, there are many holiday traditions that don’t require a buzz. Consider playing board games, watching holiday movies, or taking a stroll to gaze at the beautiful lights. Other tried and true stress busters are taking a walk in nature, journaling, or sharing your feelings with a loved one.

• But it can also be a very stressful time, particularly for people in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction.
• One thing that helps is thinking about the challenges of past holiday events so you can avoid the same pitfalls.
• As with depression, anxiety is linked to addiction, making feelings of anxiety triggering for many people in recovery.
• Try downloading one of these five mindfulness apps, or simply try meditating for at least five minutes per day.
• If you are committed to sober holidays one of the best ways to minimize stress in the moment is to practice your response ahead of time.

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Here are some relapse prevention tips and self-care ideas for the holiday season, or any time. Staying sober from drugs and alcohol during the holidays, for sober holidays some, is only half the battle for staying grounded and secure in recovery. The winter holidays can be difficult if you are new to sobriety, or if you tend to have a more difficult time with mental health during the winter months. Stress is a common trigger for relapse not just during the holidays, but at any point in the recovery process from alcohol or drug addiction.

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The biggest gift that you can give to yourself and your loved ones is that of sobriety. Volunteer, serve at an event for underserved people, and make an intentional effort to express gratitude by sharing time and effort that benefits others. Engaging in service work is far more beneficial for our sobriety than simply writing end-of-the-year checks to our favorite charities. Sacrificing for others is the fastest way to take our focus off ourselves and shift it to the world around us.

Keep your focus on your life right now, your life in recovery. You don’t want to change your focus to thoughts of your drinking or using days. As with depression, anxiety is linked to addiction, making feelings of anxiety triggering for many people in recovery. The holiday season can bring with it emotional triggers, anxiety around socializing, and other seasonal stressors that may present a challenge when it comes to staying on track in your recovery. It is important, especially in early sobriety, to never feel trapped at any holiday social gatherings, especially since there are likely to be temptations or triggers that need to be averted. Driving ourselves to a party or being sure we can access a car service should we carpool is an important detail to keep in mind.

Sober Holidays: A Unique Approach to Recovery

Please add your thoughts in the comments below or on one of our social media pages. Or send your tips to us at (we’re happy to credit you or post them anonymously). Take our short alcohol quiz to learn where you fall on the drinking spectrum and if you might benefit from quitting or cutting back on alcohol. Mindfulness is one particularly helpful strategy to combat stress. This technique involves staying in the moment and quieting your mind.

• Find some quiet time each day for relaxation and meditation—if only for a few minutes, no matter how busy you are.
• “It wasn’t easy. I’m so lucky that my friends, who are all big drinkers, were massively supportive of me getting sober,” he said.
• Here are some tips and resources for preventing or responding to addiction relapse during the holiday season.
• “I don’t think I realized how big a problem I had when it comes to alcohol until I gave it up,” Holland told Food & Wine’s Tinfoil Swans podcast in an episode that will air on October 22.
• This time of year, there are countless opportunities to harbor, nurture, and rehearse them in our minds.
• We will take your details and pass them over to our holiday providers who can contact you directly.

Finally, we are living in a heated political atmosphere and family events may elicit unwanted conversations and conflict about these topics. The holiday season is upon us, and this time of year can be incredibly challenging for many people on their recovery journeys. Holidays can be stressful and can bring up a host of triggers that can be difficult to navigate. Compounding the holiday stresses are further temptations at parties and gatherings. For people recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, this time of year can be a challenge to their recovery. While the holidays can be a magical time for many of us, for those in recovery (especially early recovery) they can be a source of anxiety, fears of relapse, and a time of feeling even more conspicuous than usual.

• From groceries for entertaining to gifts for family and friends.
• “Which might be an indication as to how much of a problem I had.”

“It’s not about quenching thirst, ’cause quenching thirst is about survival. But drinking is living.” The line includes Kingston Golden Pils, named after Holland’s hometown Kingston Upon Thames; Edge Hill Hazy IPA, named for Holland’s school; and Noon Wheat, named in honor of Holland’s beloved schnauzer. Sarah Allen Benton, M.S., LMHC., LPC, is a licensed mental health counselor and author of Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic. Sober Holidays Tip #11 Be sure there is plenty of light in your life. Keep the lights bright at home, try to get out when the sun is shining, light a cheery fire in the fireplace. Winter solstice darkness and drabness can be psychologically (and physiologically) depressing.