The priority is for the person in early recovery to have the best opportunity to stay sober through the holidays and for the entire family to enjoy this special time together. Every emotionally challenging situation a sober young person is able to face, the stronger his or her recovery will be. Remember, it’s possible to enjoy meaningful, joyful holidays without substances. This is an opportunity to create new, positive memories and traditions that align with your recovery journey. Each sober holiday season strengthens your resilience and reinforces the positive changes you’ve made in your life. If possible, bring a supportive friend who understands your recovery journey to holiday events.

Practice Responses to Drink Offers

The information on this website is not intended to be a substitute for, or to be relied upon as, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or qualified health provider with questions regarding a medical condition. Not everyone at a holiday party will know you’re in recovery so have an easy reply ready when someone offers you a drink.

Heading Home for the Holidays in Early Recovery

The holiday season is known to bring about various emotional triggers pertaining to the areas of substance abuse and trauma. While the holidays can increase the availability of substances and bring about stressful social commitments, several other factors can make this time of the year particularly challenging for individuals in recovery. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) explains “The holiday season is fraught with triggers such as songs, scents, and rituals. Early recovery brings reawakened awareness of the harm one caused oneself and one’s family and friends during the course of the addiction. It is also a time when the brain and body are still actively recovering from the effects of addiction. Those in early recovery are relatively new at learning to experience, process, and manage feelings and to function in social situations without the use of a substance.

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• In these situations, where you may be asked if you want a drink, we suggest that you set firm boundaries from the start.
• You can find Family & Friends meetings both in-person and online.
• Stay in touch with your key supports, such as counselors, sponsors, mentors, or recovering peers.

Think back to Christmas and New Year’s before you struggled with addiction. Do you have memories of arguing with your parents about what you were wearing for the family party? Or maybe you recall the stress of getting the house cleaned and decorated before hosting dozens of people for Christmas Eve. Host a small gathering of your own, with people who make you feel comfortable. These medical practices include Workit Health (MI), PLLC, Workit Health (CA), P.C., Workit Health (NJ), LLC, Workit Health (OH), LLC, and any other Workit Health professional entity that is established in the future. Recover from addiction at home with medication, community, and support—from the nonjudmental experts who really care.

• Over 11 percent of U.S. adults (29.2 million) report that they have ever had a problem with substances (SAMHSA, 2021).
• Decide in advance how much you’re comfortable sharing about your recovery journey.
• Yet the holidays, especially during early recovery, can be a time of great joy and celebration even as you struggle with your addiction.
• While these occasions are meant to bring joy, they often come with increased stress, social pressures, and potential triggers that can test one’s commitment to sobriety.
• For individuals who have spent the past year surrounded by sober peers, having to spend this concentrated time home and with those who may not truly understand or respect their sobriety process may be stressful.

Learning to Recognize the Physical Signs of Anxiety

Read Kali’s story, Alone on Christmas, for strategies on how to cope when spending the holidays alone. They have the potential to convince us that we deserve whatever we want in the moment regardless of the outcomes. While gratitude lists can be effective tools to help keep the momentum of treatment moving, meditating from a place of true gratitude, however, changes the brain and the way the brain functions. When done properly, anxiety diminishes, the focus of our thinking changes, and best of all, we can look at the life we’ve been given in a way that recognizes its worth.

Commentary: How to Navigate the Holidays in Early Recovery

For example, the ABOUT menu would have an ID of ‘aboutdropdown’. The Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA) is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit located in Pittsburgh, PA. Our mission is to help people respond effectively to substance use and related problems. Getting through the holidays can be tough, but remember you are not alone. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.

The social events of the holidays can be challenging in a number of ways for the individual who is new to recovery. The holiday season, with its festive cheer and family gatherings, can be a challenging time for those in early recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. While these occasions are meant to bring joy, they often come with increased stress, social pressures, and potential triggers that can test one’s commitment to sobriety. This comprehensive guide offers strategies to help you navigate the holidays while maintaining your recovery journey. Seeing family and friends can be a blessing, but it can also bring up old emotions and dysfunctional family dynamics. The ghosts of Christmas and holidays past may also haunt those in early sobriety and bring their substance use and “good ol’ days” to the forefront of their minds.

• Highlight the positive changes in your life since beginning recovery.
• Clients in outpatient, intensive outpatient (IOP), or partial hospitalization (PHP) programs can navigate early recovery and potential holiday triggers with the help of their care team and loved ones.
• Beverages such as hot spiced cider, hot cocoa, iced or hot tea or coffee are often welcomed.
• No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
• People in recovery should prepare an exit strategy to leave any event immediately if things begin to feel uncomfortable.

We’re ready to make sure you have the reframing holidays in early recovery support you need to achieve lifelong recovery. If you or a loved one is struggling with drugs or alcohol, call Recovery Centers of America at RECOVERY. We don’t need to agree on everything, but it’s important that we’re on the same page as parents. Perhaps there’s something your spouse thinks is very important, that you do not.