Staying Sober Through the Seasons: A Guide to Navigating Holidays in Early Recovery

For many they are the highlight of the year, a time of relaxation, gift-giving, spiritual renewal, and reflection on a year of skirmishes fought on behalf of one’s family. Have a plan for the holiday, including mutual aid meetings and calls to those central to your recovery. 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. I want to share with you a list of six ways that you can deal with sobriety during the holidays.

Have a Non-Alcoholic Drink in Hand

We have put together a list of tips and resources to help people in recovery from a substance use disorder get through the holidays. You may have family and friends who continue to drink or use despite knowing of your choice to quit. Our suggestion to you is to first avoid situations where heavy drinking is taking place. By allowing yourself to properly be prepared for the holidays, you are more likely to be successful in navigating your emotions.

• Addiction during the holiday season can be particularly challenging, but it’s important to remember that recovery is possible.
• The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year… Or are they?

How Music Therapy Treats Addiction

• Add these stressors to the steady flow of alcohol other substances present at many holiday events and individuals in recovery have the perfect storm for potential relapse.
• CRAFT aims to teach family and friends self-protection and non-confrontational communication skills to help their addicted loved one find recovery.
• Help out where possible, and use the tools that have helped you stay grateful in the past.
• We have put together a list of tips and resources to help people in recovery from a substance use disorder get through the holidays.

This has led some to have rusty social skills and a quieter existence. This year may lead to a sense of obligation to resume past large holiday traditions, while some may truly prefer to attend smaller, more intimate social events. Given that the pandemic has been connected to an increase in drinking and substance use across the country, people may be using more heavily this season. Additionally, there has also been an abrupt increase in mental health issues and other life stressors that could lead some to self-medicate. Traveling may also be more pressured for some and may also be avoided by others. Finally, we are living in a heated political atmosphere and family events may elicit unwanted conversations and conflict about these topics.

How To Celebrate The Holidays While Staying Sober

Depression and anxiety are strong contributing factors in individuals relapsing and falling back down the path of alcoholism and substance abuse. If you are prone to negative emotions during the holidays, set up an appointment with a therapist to be able to establish a game plan when the urges and cravings creep reframing holidays in early recovery into your thought process. I would suggest planning a session prior to the holidays so that you have someone to talk to and then again after the holidays to recap how that plan went, both good and bad.

• Make them feel included in plans and if you know they are struggling, suggest they attend a meeting or call a sponsor.
• Seeing old friends and family members can bring back emotions tied to past holidays.
• If another trigger is family conflict, then if and when conflict arises, an individual can rely on mindfulness techniques to work through it.
• Most individuals will encounter an amalgamation of emotions, including stress, happiness, melancholy, excitement, loneliness, and hope.
• Early recovery from substance use disorders brings up a number of new challenges.

The holidays present a perfect opportunity to reach into your recovery toolbox and use any and all of these tools. In line with this, don’t forget to check in on your brothers and sisters in recovery during the holiday season. It’s easy enough to pick up the phone, and you will find yourself feeling better as well. The holidays may come with expectations, such as shopping, travel, cooking, and multiple social gatherings. People in early recovery are often experiencing difficult personal or financial circumstances while at the same time trying to learn to live without the substance that had become central to their lives.

Stay connected to your supports.

Addiction slowly robs you of your relationships, as you become emotionally obsessed with your drug of choice. With recovery comes a blossoming of human connection, interaction, meaning, and hope. In order to recover, we learn tools to keep ourselves centered, such as humility, compassion, listening skills, and mindfulness. We learn to ask for help, and not try to internalize and fix all of our problems on our own.