Don’t force yourself if you’re uncomfortable attending a party or event. Instead, be honest about your triggers and your ability to handle them. If you know being around family is going to be stressful, plan accordingly. You may need to take a break from the party or leave early. A few key components are essential for maintaining a healthy and successful recovery. First and foremost, sobriety requires honesty with yourself about your drug use and taking responsibility for your actions.
A Public Health Approach to Preventing Opioid Misuse: Targeting Pharmacists
This can be a fun way to bring memories back to life, and pass the story along. Hot cocoa, apple cider, booze-free variations of hot toddies or eggnog—the list of festive drinks you can enjoy without alcohol is quite long. Invite some sober friends over, and experiment with some new recipes together.
How To Celebrate The Holidays While Staying Sober
- A sober holiday is a well thought through retreat that is curated to ensure the protection of your sobriety whilst you partake in all the wonderful things you enjoy during time away.
- Keep your focus on your life right now, your life in recovery.
- Being aware of your triggers, and making a plan to combat or respond to urges in the moment, can help you prepare to face these challenges head-on.
- A sober holiday allows you to enjoy the luxury of time away as many others do, whilst staying sober.
Invite some friends or loved ones over to enjoy your ‘haunted film festival’. You can serve Halloween fun foods and decorate to create a spooky ambiance. Invite guests to make movie suggestions so you can have the films ready to go when your guests arrive.
Stay safe and avoid addictions
If you feel like staying cozy indoors, consider buying a holiday-themed jigsaw puzzle, and setting it up on your table. This can give you something relaxing to work on during a quiet, snowy evening, while keeping your mind occupied. If it’s your kind of thing, invite a friend and make an evening of it. If it’s not, it can still be fun to go and watch people circle the rink together. Get a hot cider, take in the atmosphere, the lights, the music, and remind yourself of the joys of the winter season.
For many of us, alcohol plays a bigger role in December holiday festivities than we’d like. Often, we feel the consequences once the merriment subsides, and swear we’ll do things differently next year—but it’s harder than we expect. Some of us have even sworn off alcohol completely, and are dreading the constant temptations and explanations that come with the holidays. The holidays can be a fun and exciting time of year, but also a stressful and emotional time as well. Here are 10 quick tips for maintaining your sobriety, and sanity, during the winter holidays and into the new year. In reality, however, for many people it can be a difficult time, triggering feelings of depression and anxiety as well as powerful urges to escape, use substances, and/or act out.
- “Ask for a nonalcoholic drink like a mocktail or something that might look more alcoholic so no one knows that you’re not drinking,” Rollins said.
- If you feel like you’re struggling to cope on your own, don’t be afraid to reach out for additional support from a qualified mental health professional.
- If you’re living with active addiction, do not discount the extra stress the holidays bring.
- Sometimes we get caught up in how we have always celebrated the holidays.
We offer comprehensive support from a smartphone app, including coaching, drink-tracking tools, and even prescription medications to reduce cravings. On the same note, there are many children whose parents can’t afford to buy them gifts for the holidays. There are often gift drives at local businesses, religious centers, and community organizations. It can be a fun and heart-warming experience to go out shopping for a child, and you’ll know you’ve made a big difference in someone’s holiday.
Is there a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in your town? Perhaps there’s a caroling group you can join, or a holiday bazaar https://ecosoberhouse.com/ where people share homemade arts and crafts. Odds are, there are some fun sober ways to celebrate in your community.
Understanding the Challenges of Staying Sober During Holidays
This technique involves staying in the moment and quieting your mind. It’s about tuning into the sights and sounds around you allowing anxious thoughts to drift away. Together, they are partnering to provide a discount on rides throughout the holiday weekend to reduce drunk driving and help save lives. SEATTLE — Uber and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are joining forces over the Labor Day holiday to help prevent impaired driving. When you experience a relapse, taking more self-care can help you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Consider things like getting more sleep, eating a balanced diet, and exercising regularly.
Follow these tips for how to stay sober during the holidays, according to experts
In that time, Julie’s brother-in-law, who always arrives under the influence of drugs, drinks too much and starts arguments. Recognizing that self-care is as important as the other tasks on your to-do list can help put yourself at the top, and stop you from succumbing to holiday temptations. They have the potential to convince us that we deserve whatever we want in the moment regardless of the outcomes.
Showcasing Your Sobriety with the SOBRLIFE
Being a part of the bigger story is where we find purpose and hope which shifts our gaze away from the self-centered fear of our addiction. Anticipation, on the other hand, is living with a loose grip and being willing to accept the gift that is the moment at hand. Expectations demand; while sober holidays anticipation waits in wonder. During the holiday season, remember to regularly take stock of what unmet expectations could be robbing you of your holiday joy. Accepting life on life’s terms requires living with the loose grip of anticipation rather than the tight fist of expectation.