When you think of Christmas, you may envision gift-giving, Christmas cookies, and holiday parties complete with wine or other festive cocktails. It can be hard enough to resist all the seasonal treats without being in recovery, so you can imagine how challenging it is when you are trying to avoid drinking. If you are struggling with the idea of a sober Christmas and believe you are likely to relapse, you may want to consider enrolling in a residential treatment center.
At Serenity House Detox & Recovery Houston, we fully understand how the stress and temptations of Christmas festivities can make it difficult, if not impossible, to avoid drinking. We are here to support your efforts to have a sober Christmas, whether that means providing you with a relapse prevention plan in an outpatient program or enrolling you in our residential treatment center to help you get over the hump. Reach out to us today at 866.516.8356 to help you avoid drinking this holiday season.
If you think you can have a sober Christmas with a bit of support from an outpatient program, you may wish for some relapse prevention ideas. Here are some tips to help you avoid drinking this Christmas.
Learn Stress Management Techniques
While Christmas can be a joyous time, it can also be quite stressful. With the holidays come additional errands, such as:
- Gift shopping
- Planning for Christmas dinner
- Food shopping
- Party planning
- Ensuring your home is guest-ready
It is enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed and ready for a stress-relieving Christmas cocktail. To fortify yourself against holiday stress, learn relaxation techniques to use throughout the season. Yoga and meditation are wonderful stress relievers, while breathing exercises are perfect for breaking out during particularly stressful moments. When you take a little time out of your day to practice stress reduction, you will find that your patience and resilience improve. Therefore, situations that usually stress you out will no longer have the same impact.
BYO Alcohol-Free Beverages
Unless you are attending a gathering that you know will be free of alcohol, you should plan ahead and bring your own nonalcoholic drinks. Not all hosts may be aware that you are trying to avoid drinking. Unless you feel comfortable speaking to them about it in advance, you can avoid any uncomfortable questions about why you are not drinking by bringing your own. Often, when you have a drink in your hand, people will not wonder whether or not it contains alcohol.
Water may get boring for you after a while, so find something fun and festive to drink that will not interfere with your sober Christmas. For instance, you can bring ingredients for Christmas mocktails, eggnog, spiced cider, or hot chocolate. Unless you tell them, no one needs to know that it is alcohol-free.
Connect with Others
One of the most common addiction triggers during the holiday season is a sense of loneliness and disconnection. Not everyone has close family or friends nearby to spend the holidays with, and in some cases, those relationships may be strained due to the addiction.
The remedy for this is to seek opportunities to connect with others, whether it be family members, friends, other people in recovery, or those in need. Suggest seasonal activities with your loved ones that do not involve alcohol. Volunteering is also an excellent way to find meaning over the holidays and connect with others by helping out.
Seek Support at Serenity House Detox & Recovery Houston
Sometimes all you need to stay on your path to recovery is a little help from an outpatient addiction treatment program. At Serenity House Detox & Recovery Houston, we can provide a range of treatment services, from the flexibility of an outpatient program to the intensiveness of a residential treatment program. Reach out to us at 866.516.8356 to find the right level of support for your sobriety this Christmas season.
