Maintaining Sobriety during the Holiday Season

We all experience idealised fantasies of fun and frolic associated with delightful holiday gatherings and being surrounded by family members and friends. The beauty is that they are rare and something to be cherished about. But, an open minded, realistic approach also hints us at some potential problems that could arise from such gatherings and festivities.

Understanding the challenges

For people in addiction recovery, understanding the challenges associated with partying with friends and family helps arrive at solutions to maintain sobriety without hurting the party mood. The major challenge is not abusing even after receiving a good number of party invitations and being surrounded by the old party mates at every party. You need to be choosy about which parties to attend this season if parties trigger substance abuse for you. Also, fore-thinking about a number of risk factors that come into play while partying and planning to overcome them in advance can help maintain sobriety even during holiday season.

For example, for those people who have opted for substance abuse due to strained relationships/ failed love affairs/loss of a loved one, meeting people who remind them of the past hurts could prove to be the triggers for relapse. Identifying this fact beforehand and being emotionally strong in such gatherings is the key to avoid such triggers.

Ready availability of Alcohol and Drugs

Alcohol and Drugs are available more readily than usual during the holiday season. i.e. during the month of December. If you are a recovering addict, protecting yourself from drugs and alcohol could feel far much more of a tougher task during this season of merriment. One advice is to remember that sobriety means real happiness and it took a lot of effort from your side to attain sobriety. To make self-care a priority and avoid triggers could come a long way in serving the purpose of abstinence.

How to avail choice?

Holiday season witnesses some of the most important festivities lingering round the corner and festivities surely mean partying. Partying could mean a problem because your former drinking buddies may coerce you into your old drinking habits or may try to convince you that you may not have a drinking problem just by drinking once more. They do not want to lose a drinking partner. In such cases, you may want to declare to others that you are in the recovery process and need to abstain from drinking. You need to do this without any embarrassment so you continue with the process of recovery and also your self-esteem increases. This may seem hard right now but as your recovery progresses, you start to realise that your sobriety is a positive way to connect with interesting people, develop emotional stability and self-respect too.

How to avoid feeling guilty from staying away?

Holidays are not easy to navigate when getting together with families where drinking is an important ritual of the festivity. It is wise to stay away from alcohol centred gatherings especially during early recovery periods. You need not worry about your family’s reaction as the most important task right now is staying sober. Becoming more stable in your recovery helps you handle stressful situations related to family with ease.

Need for a plan in place

A forethought about the circumstances that may fuel your cravings for substance use and a solid plan in place to avoid such triggers help you create your dream holidays without hurting anyone and without getting into your old habits. Also practicing yoga on a daily basis and nurturing your soul with positivity and hope for a better tomorrow keeps the recovery maintained even during the toughest of the times. Self-care and love are the two traits that fill you with joy while keeping your sobriety maintained during holiday season.

Wishing you peace, joy and fun during this holiday season and best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year 2021 – Team Phoenix