The holidays are a challenging time of year for addicts in recovery or online addiction recovery. At the very least, we must deal with holiday expectations for merriment, love, and connection. Frequently, we expect our holidays to resemble a Norman Rockwell painting, and when that doesn't happen, we feel let down, under pressure, uneasy, inadequate, and sometimes even a little depressed. Amid all this stress, it's simple to spiral out of control and forget what matters most: our sobriety. A few things you may want to consider are:
Meetings/Therapy/Fellowship
I know of your hectic schedule, but there are better times to skip meetings, counseling, or socializing with your friends in recovery or an online recovery tool. The holiday season is a suitable time to focus even more on these sober fundamentals. It is wise to seek out others who can relate to you and talk you down from the ledge if you feel pressured, frustrated, overwhelmed, and ready to snap.
Engage in Self-Care
Again, I understand how busy you are with all the shopping, decorating, cooking, and socializing. Still, you also need to take care of your physical and emotional needs by getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, and overall taking excellent care of yourself. Failure to do so increases your stress level and raises your risk of developing sadness, anxiety, and relapse. In addition, it can be helpful to plan some quiet time during the holidays with your significant other or a close friend, so the two of you can take a break from the festivities and unwind.
Plan for Triggers
Addiction triggers abound around the holidays, many of which can be anticipated well in advance. For instance, it's occasionally impossible to resist gatherings with alcohol and other temptations. If so, call your sponsor or a different friend in recovery to "bookend" these activities. You commit to sobriety and discuss your strategies to prevent relapse during the "before" call. You talk about what happened, any sentiments that surfaced, and any potential changes you should make for the future during the "after" call.
Get Grateful
Making a ten-item list of your blessings when you're feeling low around the holidays is a powerful method to lift your spirits. You can appreciate that you have a job, a family, money for Christmas (even if it's not as much as you'd like), your children are healthy, the weather is nice, etc. You'll discover that it's challenging to be grateful and miserable at the same moment when you practice gratitude in this manner.
Read more about Sanity Sobriety In The Holiday Season
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