Triggers to Avoid During the Holidays

Know your triggers A major part of a successful recovery process is knowing what your triggers are. During the holidays, it can be a time that they present themselves more often than not. It can also be time when new triggers can arise that you didn’t realize you had before. It’s important to sit down and make a list of all the triggers that you think may pop up, and come up with a plan for each of them. This will give you better confidence for handling the situation when it pops up, and you will be able to move past it successfully with your newly-honed coping skills. Common holiday triggers Traveling Pressure to be a good host Returning to a hometown or childhood areas Spending a lot of money on presents Attending holiday parties with old friends The stress of seeing family that you haven’t seen in a while Having to talk about your recovery with family and friends The smell of certain food or drinks The atmosphere of holiday parties Holiday shopping with large crowds Seeing people that you may have a fractured relationship with due to your past addiction People drinking in front of you People smoking in front of you Alcohol and wine bottles on the dinner table, or free flowing throughout events Have a plan Now is the time to be ready for all the stress that the holidays can bring on before it is too late. It’s important to come up with a plan, especially if this holiday season is one of the first for you since you became sober. Being prepared will help you navigat...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Uncategorized addiction alcohol family family therapy holidays PTSD relationships triggers Source Type: blogs