Every month to every couple of months there is a national holiday or a widely recognized celebration. In America and many countries around the world, it is customary to celebrate with drinking. Most often, with excessive drinking. During the early months of recovery, and anytime throughout life abstinent from alcohol, drinking holidays, or drinking celebrations during holidays, can be triggering. Overtime, living with these triggers gets easier. Recovery from alcoholism means abstaining from using alcohol. However, recovery from alcoholism does not mean abstaining from any temptation to use alcohol ever again. Alcohol is a major part of life. What you learn in recovery is to “live life on life’s terms” which means learning to live with the triggers of drinking holidays without having to act on triggered cravings to drink. The desire to drink and the feeling of missing out will go away in time as you become more comfortable in recovery. With some of these tips, you’ll have so much fun spending your holidays sober, you’ll wonder why everyone else finds it necessary to get drunk.
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Throw a party with all of your sober friends: There is no better way to have fun than with other people who need to find a way to have fun clean and sober. Together, you can acknowledge that it’s a little bit awkward and even uncomfortable to get through some early holidays without drinking. Still, you can watch movies, cook food, have a dance party, or do whatever it is you want to do together to have fun.
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Serve “Mocktails”: For some people, even virgin cocktails might still be too triggering as reminders of the drinks they used to enjoy. Otherwise, it can be a fun way to get creative with beverages and have a good time with a party. In time you will find that you don’t have to have a drink, of any kind, in your hand to feel comfortable or have a good time.
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Go on an outdoor adventure instead of being near drinking culture: Rather than stay in urban areas where there will be a focus on drinking, opt out and head for nature. Take advantage of a day off of work and plan a small trip to local nature. Try hiking, exploring, or even just taking an extra long scenic route to get out and see some more of the world.
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Remember that it is just another day: If nothing you are doing is helping you feel more comfortable about spending a holiday sober, remember, it’s nothing more than another day, just like yesterday, and just like tomorrow. You don’t have to do this day again for a while until the next holiday and even that day is just another day.
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Spend the day attending AA meetings: To stay connected and accountable in recovery, spend the day at A meetings. Most places offer AA meetings all day long in different areas. Some AA clubhouses offer marathon meetings for major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.
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Find an AA party: For other celebratory days like Fourth of July and Halloween, most AA districts host a giant party where people from all over the district come to celebrate. You’ll be amazed at how happy everyone is to be sober and celebrating their sobriety together.
We know that a lifetime of happiness in recovery is waiting for you. At Cottonwood Tucson, we put each patient on a spiritual path toward total recovery from mental health and dual diagnosis addiction issues. For information on our critically acclaimed residential treatment programs, call us today: (888) 727-0441
