12 Tips to Staying Clean and Sober during the Holidays

If you are newly clean and sober, we want to extend you some hope. Feel confident that the best years of your life lie ahead of you. The 12-step programs (Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous) offer many promises. Life will take on a new meaning, and you will know happiness like you have never known before.

• One thing that helps is thinking about the challenges of past holiday events so you can avoid the same pitfalls.
• You exist outside of yourself, and you begin to notice all the blessings your life already contains.
• Or maybe you’ll investigate online meetings now, before anything happens, so you can go to a meeting at a moment’s notice.
• Feel confident that the best years of your life lie ahead of you.

Graduate School of Addiction Studies

Identify a supportive companion, avoid confrontation, and keep yourself engaged in activities. Discover what brings you happiness, don’t hesitate to seek help when needed, and plan things to look forward to in the future. Secure a strong support system when stress levels rise.

Create a Holiday Escape Plan and Plan to Protect Your Sobriety

American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. Please add your thoughts in the comments below or on one of our social media pages. Or send your tips to us at (we’re happy to credit you or post them anonymously). Sarah Allen Benton, M.S., LMHC., LPC, is a licensed mental health counselor and author of Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic. Take our short alcohol quiz to learn where you fall on the drinking spectrum and if you might benefit from quitting or cutting back on alcohol.

Stay Connected To Your Recovery Community

Better still, the excursion was billed as physically challenging, while also offering the rare opportunity to sleep overnight at a headhunters’ longhouse. I would meet real Borneans, and other travelers (i.e., men) with the physical stamina and means to book such a tour. But with some preparation, you can go anywhere and have a great time, sober.

Ideas to Help You Stay Sober During The Holidays

Everyone has a wish list for https://ecosoberhouse.com/ the holidays, but far too often that list becomes a set of expectations rather than wants. When we live in a state of expectation, we will almost always be disappointed. Not only do our expectations serve to rob us of the joy of the moment, but they also have a way of getting transmitted to those around us. Expectations set the stage for our feelings of entitlement. Organize your time well and have a well-thought-out exit plan.

• They’re also jam-packed with time-strapped travel, stress, and high expectations.
• Our host turned out to be a TV personality who was having boyfriend issues.
• Discover what brings you happiness, don’t hesitate to seek help when needed, and plan things to look forward to in the future.
• Before stepping into a festive holiday celebration environment, make certain that  you are not Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.
• And a sip of alcohol does not mean a complete derailment of your sober holiday.

Waiting lists are common in January, as this is a month when people are recovering from the holiday season or making New Year’s resolutions. If you experience setbacks during the holiday season, it’s okay. Acknowledge your successes and thank yourself every time you take a positive step in your recovery journey. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed by holiday festivities, so make sure to prioritize your support network in November and December.

Plus, temptation seems to be everywhere…given all the holiday parties you might be expected to attend. The holidays can be an incredibly stressful time for anyone, especially those struggling with a substance use disorder or mental health condition. While sober holidays the New Year is a popular time to make a change for the better, waiting to get the help you need is never the best option. To get started on your recovery journey, contact a treatment provider to learn more about your options. You don’t want to start thinking about your drinking or using days.

How to survive the festivities without drinking.

So, if you return home for family events, everyone is still be drinking there, it’s a constant reminder of what you can’t do. Now’s the time you need some sober inspiration to stay on track. Avila Heights Recovery wishes everyone in recovery happy sober holidays! Navigating the holiday season while staying sober can seem overwhelming – especially for the newly recovered. On top of that, you can’t attend your home group meeting, and you haven’t heard from your sponsor in two days.

• By putting these 10 strategies into action, you can face the yuletide season with confidence and resilience.
• To put it another way, rather than powering through tough situations, you’re being honest about what you can handle.
• Lastly, we recommend having a ready response for why you’re not drinking.
• Addiction treatment initiated during the holidays could be the best gift you give to your family, your friends and yourself.
• For some people in recovery, the holidays can be tough.

Family and Children’s Programs

Engaging in service work is far more beneficial for our sobriety than simply writing end-of-the-year checks to our favorite charities. Sacrificing for others is the fastest way to take our focus off ourselves and shift it to the world around us. 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. While gratitude lists can be effective tools to help keep the momentum of treatment moving, meditating from a place of true gratitude, however, changes the brain and the way the brain functions.