Guest post by: Constance Ray
As a recovering addict, you have put blood, sweat, and tears into gaining and maintaining your sobriety. The last thing you want to do is risk a relapse this holiday season. Yet, you also want to take part in the festivities with friends, coworkers, and family members. If you’re nervous about navigating the holidays with your sobriety intact, the following tips will help you get through holiday parties and family celebrations and keep your stress levels at a minimum.
- Choose Wisely
The first step to avoiding a relapse during the holidays is to make wise choices. If you are invited to a party with people who enabled your addiction or who continue to criticize you despite your clean living, it may be best to skip that event and opt for one with more supportive friends and family. You need to worry more about your health and sobriety than other people’s feelings, so don’t stress about missing parties and celebrations that will put your sobriety at risk.
You should also consider skipping parties that you know will involve alcohol. Being in tempting situations is not a good idea for recovering addicts. However, if you do choose to attend, make the wise decision to invite a confidante along who will remain sober with you and whom you trust to leave early with you if you need to do so.
- Be Honest with Close Friends and Family Members
If you are concerned about maintaining your sobriety this holiday season, confide in your close friends and family members about your fears and concerns. Let them know what your triggers are and work with them to avoid them at all costs. These people love and support you and want to see you succeed, so they most likely will honor your requests to have alcohol-free celebrations, avoid inviting people that will trigger you, and give you the time you need to attend meetings whenever you need to do so. The more honest you are with everyone, the more they will be able to help you get through the holidays and remain sober.
- Work to Help Others
The holiday season is the perfect time to help others, so if you are concerned about having too much free time or being isolated this holiday season, reach out to organizations that need extra help and volunteers. You may want to help at a homeless shelter, a local shelter for unwanted animals, or a soup kitchen. Some cities have programs designed specifically for recovering addicts to help others in need, so get online and see what is available near you. As an added bonus, you’ll feel good about helping others this holiday season.
- Exercise
Focusing on your overall health is just as important as concentrating on your sobriety. Physical activities and exercise will release endorphins that will make you feel good and help you keep your mind on your body and wellness throughout the holiday season. Exercise also helps you relieve stress during the holidays, which is important because stress is a common trigger for recovering addicts.
You may want to hike in the sunshine to get vitamin D and boost serotonin levels, take a brisk walk through a local park, or take a yoga class. Yoga is an especially helpful activity for recovering addicts because it helps to relieve stress and center your thoughts on your body and mind while increasing your heart rate and oxygen levels.
- Make Time for Fun
Laughing is one of the best ways to relieve stress, so make sure that you plan some fun, relaxing activities with friends and family over the holidays. Take in a movie, play games, go ice skating, or help decorate the family tree. The possibilities for having fun during the holidays are nearly endless because people have time off work and have more time to spend with the ones they love. Again, be sure that the fun involves alcohol-free activities and locations so that you can maintain your sobriety while enjoying yourself.
It is possible to maintain your sobriety and avoid a relapse this holiday season if you make good decisions, talk with close friends and family members about how they can support you, stay active, and make time for fun that is drug and alcohol free.
Constance Ray started http://recoverywell.org with the goal of creating a safe place for people to share how addiction has affected them, whether they are combating it themselves or watching someone they care about work to overcome it. The goal is to share stories of hope from survivors who know that the fight against addiction is one worth having, because no matter how it affects you, life can get better.
Image via Pixabay by cherylholt
