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Four Directions Treatment & Recovery Center

Staying Sober During the Holiday Season

The holiday season for many, is a time that brings about a variety of emotions and triggers. People may experience feelings of melancholy, sadness, and grief tied to holiday recollections. Unlike clinical depression, which is more severe and can last for months or years, those feelings are and can be managed if sober.

A sobriety plan for the holidays should include improved self-care, enhanced support from sober others, and healthy ways to celebrate. Here are a few suggestions to help achieve a sober holiday season:

One day at a time. Plan each and every day of your holiday season: Plan to spend the majority of your time with friends and family who are supportive of your recovery. This may mean going to a Twelve Step meeting before or after the event, attending the occasion with your sponsor or a friend in recovery, and making sure you can leave at any time and are not dependent on someone else for transportation. Limit time in stressful situations or around difficult people and always have an escape plan. Relapse prevention is about planning.
Find a meeting in your area: Many groups have special meetings during the holidays to share their experience, strength, and hope.
Have a list of 3 people you can call: Make a list and check it twice. Carry your cell phone and list of names at all times. Prepare a plan to support and protect your sobriety ahead of key holiday events, whether at work or leisure.
Remember self-care: Regular exercise can help maintain your energy level amid a busy schedule and is an essential component of any balanced recovery program. Get plenty of rest. Do not overindulge. Go easy on the holiday sweets and follow a balanced diet. Monitor your intake of caffeine, nicotine, and sugar. Celebrate the holiday season by taking time for yourself. The better you feel physically, the stronger you will be emotionally.
Stay away from slippery people, places and things. Stay away from the first drink. If you do not start drinking, you will not have to worry about stopping.
Write out a daily gratitude list; the quickest cure to get you off the “pity potty” is by counting your blessings and being grateful for what you have every morning. Be thankful for the littlest things that bring joy like one more day of sobriety. Make a list of all the things you have to be grateful for. Carry the list in your jacket pocket and read it just as you feel yourself becoming anxious or upset.
Avoid H.A.L.T. (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired): If you are hungry, get something to eat. If you are angry, talk to somebody about it. If you are lonely, go to a meeting or call a friend. If you are tired, get a good night’s sleep.
Live one day at a time and enjoy your sobriety: Stay in the moment. Never mind about what happened or what could happen. Enjoy today. Live today. Celebrate your sobriety!
Heal yourself by helping others. Volunteer your time at a soup kitchen, animal shelter, hospital, or charity. When you help others, you feel better about yourself. Keep it simple.
Expectations and “the holidays”: Talk with your sponsor, a friend, or a professional counselor about the emotions and expectations you have wrapped up in the holidays. Instead of entering a holiday event on the defensive, orient your thinking to be on the offensive: What is the next right thing for me to do in this situation?
Maintain your spirituality. The holidays are a time for reflection and connection with your higher power. It is critical to take some quiet time each day for relaxation and meditation, even for a few minutes, no matter how busy you are.
Listen. Be willing to hear the words of your sponsor and others who have long-term sobriety. Keep an open mind to new ideas and viewpoints.
Remember the serenity prayer. Ask for the strength to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can and the wisdom to know the difference.
Fend off loneliness. Isolation can be dangerous. Spend time with family and friends who will support your recovery and provide companionship and positive reinforcement
Clean your mental house. Get rid of the negativity. Think positive thoughts, and speak to yourself with supportive, loving words instead of harsh, critical ones.
Release your resentments. Resentment has been described as allowing a person you dislike to live in your head, rent-free. Resentments that gain steam during the holidays can be disastrous for anyone, especially recovering people. The Big Book of “Alcoholics Anonymous “refers to resentment as the No. 1 offender, or the most common factor in failed sobriety.
Keep commitments. Prove to yourself and others that you are honest and dependable.
Write a letter to yourself— “How I stayed sober over the holidays:” The act of writing your ideas on paper is very powerful. Write down all the activities and events that will help you have healthy, happy, and sober holiday season.
If you need substance use/mental health treatment, consider getting it during the holidays. Many families mistakenly think the holidays are an inappropriate time for treatment, when actually it is the best time. Substance misuse generally ramps up over the holidays. The holidays more likely are an emotionally stressful time when use of alcohol or other drugs is prevalent, making it difficult for someone with mental health/substance misuse to avoid relapse. Treatment initiated during the holidays could be the best gift you give to yourself, family and friends. When to seek treatment: Alcohol intake is greater than you intended. Alcohol or getting high is all you think about. Efforts to cut down are unsuccessful. Work, school and home life are suffering. Drinking and using while driving. Tolerance. Withdrawal. Thoughts of suicide. Pick up the 1,000 pound phone
It is also important to be aware that some people are most vulnerable after the holidays. Sometimes people with substance misuse HX, will do better through the crisis than after it. Remember, the disease of substance use dependency is as powerful the day after a holiday as it is the day before.