With the holidays around the corner, it’s important to have a sober holiday strategy. Why a holiday strategy? Sometimes holidays can be stressful, especially to recovering addicts/alcoholics. If you have a relapse prevention plan, it can be extremely helpful in dealing with the presence of drinking triggers, potential relapses and depression over the holidays.
Here are our top tips for staying sober through the holidays:
- Keep a fully charged cell phone with numbers to call if you are feeling anxious.
- Continue to work on your recovery, even if it seems harder than usual.
- Meet with your support group regularly, if not more than usual.
- Always have your own means of transportation to any holiday party and have an exit plan.
- Bring someone from your recovery network with you to a holiday party.
- It’s perfectly okay to say no to any holiday obligation that makes you feel unsafe.
- When attending a drinking holiday event, always be sure to have a non-alcoholic drink in hand.
- Check in with yourself, see how you are doing emotionally, and then take the next right action.
Holidays can be a tricky time of year for recovery alcoholic and addicts. While they are supposed to be happy and joyous, sometimes it gets mixed up with expectations and familial troubles. It’s important to remember that navigating a sober life is a new and challenging journey. Be patient with yourself, and know that you are not alone!
