Holiday Sobriety Guide

The holidays can be challenging for a multitude of reasons. Familial conflict, financial expectations, and crammed schedules can seem inevitable at times. For people in recovery and practicing sobriety, the holidays can seem like an endless minefield of triggers and temptations. Recovery is already difficult and making it through a period of time that is centered around celebrations and taking part in substances can feel incredibly overwhelming. With the the end of December nearing, we wanted to come up with some tips to help you give yourself some additional support during this holiday season. 

1. Making a Relapse Prevention Plan…

Relapse prevention planning is a really common framework that is used in several sobriety settings like group therapy and self-help meetings. It’s exactly how it sounds; a plan to prevent a relapse. There are several different outlines to a relapse prevention plan on the internet, here are some things to consider including in yours:

1. What are my triggers?

2. What do I need to do when my triggers are present?

3. When is my next therapy session/support meeting? Do I need to make one sooner?

4. If I feel triggered, who can I call to pass the time?

5. What are my coping skills that I want to implement regardless of triggers being present?

2. Try to make plans for recovery ahead of time…

With calendars filling up around the end of the year, it can be helpful to remember to carve out time instead of waiting until we need time. This can look like scheduling extra self-help meetings, trying to make boundaries surrounding how many events you’ll attend, or even starting/scheduling more time for therapy. We want to remember that we can always take away things if we don’t need them, but adding them in is harder when we have limited space. 

3. Bring your own beverages…

If you struggle with alcohol, bringing your own beverages can be helpful. Weather it’s a fun soda, a mocktail, or something else, bringing our own drinks can guarantee that there are options available instead of waiting to see what the options are. It’s also completely okay to ask what will be provided and articulate your need for NA options if asked. Remember others want to support you!

4. Practice saying no…

While it might feel silly, practicing turning down offers of alcohol and other substances can be very helpful. Often, people can be nervous about judgement, peer pressure, or disappointing loved ones. All of these concerns are valid, and we want to try to remember that when it comes to recovery, your needs come first. Prioritize what will be the healthy option, not what will make you the most comfortable. 

Of course this isn’t an exhaustive list of the steps you can take to manage your recovery or sustain sobriety. However, this could be a helpful starting point to discovering some areas to attend to while entering the holiday season. Ultimately, it’s important to remind yourself that recovery deserves some space to plan for and your needs to keep yourself safe and healthy this holiday season are worthy of prioritizing. 

The information on this website is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical or psychological condition and is not a substitute for therapy. If you are experiencing an emergency please call/text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.