Have Yourself a Sober Christmas

Christmas time brings new challenges if you are struggling to stay sober. You want to participate in family gatherings. You want to enjoy time with the people you love and perhaps don’t get to see all that often. The trouble is that, for most families, holiday celebrations include alcohol. It may be in the punch or eggnog. It may be that they enjoy craft beers or holiday cocktails. But alcohol is alcohol is alcohol — whatever form it takes. You know how it’s going to go when you get together: Someone (usually the same someone) urges you to “Have just one. After all it’s Christmas.” Other members of the family sneak peeks at you all evening, checking to see if you are keeping your promise to stay sober. They worry that you may ruin Christmas — again — by being somehow inappropriate because you’ve had too many. Some will look the other way if you give in to temptation. Others will sigh and blame and shame you. Regardless, you know the tension in the room will mount as the evening wears on. Do you have a plan for how to deal with it and stay sober? Planning is everything. No, you can’t “wing it”, counting on yourself to resist all temptations despite the pressures, real and imagined, that come with holiday gatherings. People who manage to stay sober and even to take another positive step in their sobriety think about the following: Consider whether you really ought to go to the family party this year. If you are newly sober, a family celeb...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Addiction Family Holiday Coping Recovery Alcoholism Christmas Family Gathering Holiday Parties Sobriety Substance Abuse Source Type: blogs