Let family and friends know in advance that you won’t be drinking alcohol at the event. Assuming holidays or certain family traditions have to be the way they have always been, can derail success. It’s okay to do something different, to change locations, to change who you celebrate with or the amount of time you spend at a specific event. Consider celebrating a difficult holiday by marking something off your “bucket list,” doing some needed self-care or volunteering to help others. Have a plan for saying “no” to offers of drugs or alcohol, especially when people ask why you aren’t partaking or are pressuring you. • Remember that putting your sobriety first is your priority.
Teen & Young Adult Treatment Tracks
- Coping with holiday stress can feel like a minefield when you’re trying to stay sober.
- Give yourself a break by letting go of the need to meet the expectations of others.
- Let family and friends know in advance that you won’t be drinking alcohol at the event.
- Damage to trust reframing holidays in early recovery and connection is often at the root of traumatic events that lead to disruptions in the brain’s ability to self-regulate physiologically and emotionally.
Challenge the story in your head that says you’re supposed to feel a certain way. Acknowledge that you’re allowed to feel exactly how you feel and set honest holiday expectations without judgment. Our Treatment Advisors are available 24 hours a day to help you or a loved one access care. We’re ready to make sure you have the support you need to achieve lifelong recovery.
Sober Living In California: Build Your Community
- Having your peeps in place can keep you grounded during the holiday chaos.
- Maintaining your boundaries to protect your sobriety is more important than pleasing others.
- Holiday dread is a common experience for those in recovery—and anyone struggling with mental health challenges.
- Friends, family, and support groups make this part much easier.
Many worry about family dinners, and purchasing presents as the holidays reframing holidays in early recovery quickly approach. For those feeling particularly cut off, linking up with local support groups or hopping into community happenings can be lifesavers. Spotting loneliness before it snowballs and knowing who to reach out to or what groups to check out can keep you from feeling too alone.
- Think of this as prepping the mind before stepping into the holiday frenzy.
- Whether through texts, calls, or waving hi on a video chat, sometimes all we need is to know someone’s there.
- It’s important to keep expectations for yourself realistic in how you will maintain your recovery.
Personality Disorders and Addiction: Care
Headaches, sluggishness or low energy, lack of mental clarity, and sugar cravings can all come from being dehydrated. Your cup of herbal tea, non-caffeinated drinks, or the fruits and vegetables you eat can all count towards your water content too. Here at BTG we talk about the importance of eating good sources of protein for our neurotransmitter health or mood repairing and stabilizing forces. It can be tempting during the holiday to eat a bunch of junk food but it will do nothing for your mood or your cravings. Doing things like skipping a meal, or not including protein can lower your resilience or the ability for you to handle what life is throwing at you. Take a moment to talk it out with someone you trust, like a sponsor, therapist or peer.
You deserve to feel joy at this time of year just like everyone else, so drug addiction treatment keep these tips in mind as you navigate your way through the holiday season and through your early recovery. It’s better to miss them this time around in order to increase the likelihood that they will be alive, well, and able to participate in future events. For those of us in early recovery, the holidays can remind us of past rifts and wrongs, but they also present new opportunities for mending broken relationships. Healthy boundaries and clear communication can help start the holiday season with a clean slate for forging future connections. So whether or not your holidays are all the way happy, here’s to a holiday season that is healthy in recovery. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, don’t hesitate to seek help and support.