Staying Sober for the Holidays

By Ioana Cozma

Updated: 20 November 2023 & medically reviewed by Morgan Blair

Why staying sober can be difficult during the holidays

Holidays involve extra spending, more events, and more substance availability. Additionally, holidays disrupt the day-to-day routine. The section below discusses this complex interplay of issues.

1. Family dynamics

Holidays may intensify family expectations and dynamics, enhancing the preexisting tension between family members. You may deal with expectations of holiday perfection and demands on time and energy.

These expectations may be overwhelming. The resulting stress may lead you back to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as alcohol or drug consumption.

2. Social and work events

Many holiday gatherings revolve around drinking. Refusing alcohol may create uncomfortable situations because alcohol’s socially accepted connotation is connected to having fun.

Additionally, these events may bring back challenging memories or emotions. Nostalgia or recalling past holiday celebrations that involved substance use may be triggering for individuals in recovery. The result is an increasing pressure to drink, both from the social circle and from within.

3. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

The winter season may trigger symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The reduced sunlight may disrupt the body’s internal clock and contribute to a drop in serotonin levels. Therefore, people with SAD may have troubling depressive episodes, persistent low mood, loss of interest in usual activities, fatigue, low appetite, and sleep issues.

These symptoms might increase your desire to use alcohol or drugs in an attempt to self-medicate and alleviate the unpleasant feelings.

4. Anxiety and stress

There are different reasons why the holidays may cause significant stress. First, planning events and dealing with additional expenses may be overwhelming. Additionally, structure is the backbone of sobriety, and challenging a healthy routine destabilizes those in recovery.^[1]

Lastly, many people face increased loneliness during the holidays despite the festive atmosphere. People in recovery may be more at risk if they are estranged from their families or lack a support system.

These feelings of being overwhelmed, financial stress, lack of routine, and isolation are triggers that may reinforce substance use as a form of coping.

Tips for staying sober

Understanding the challenges outlined above helps you build actionable, personalized strategies to avoid them. Here are some tips that maximize relapse prevention:

1. Plan alcohol-free activities

Planning activities or gatherings that don’t center around drinking will alleviate the social pressure around drinking and the holidays. Additionally, learning to have fun without drinking replaces negative habits associated with substance use and teaches you better coping mechanisms.^[2]

Therefore, doing alcohol-free activities regularly increases the chances of relapse prevention. Your holiday options may include board games, outdoor family trips, and movie nights with holiday themes.

2. Develop a support network

Relying on a tight-knit support network is another essential way to ensure relapse prevention. Having nearby loved ones during the holidays helps you navigate the increased stress and temptation.^[3]

To increase the chances of success at sobriety, ask your friends and family to share any organizational responsibilities you may have. If you are facing financial difficulties, discuss sharing experiences instead of gifts.

Also, create an exit plan with your loved ones in case you are facing difficult triggers, such as attending a company event with alcohol or facing increased pressure from your family.^[2]

3. Create new traditions

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s are traditionally associated with alcohol consumption. Traditional beverages include cocktails, punches, egg nog, and champagne. If you are in recovery from drug use disorder, your holiday experiences may be tied to different substances.

To overcome the habit or nostalgia, establish new holiday traditions that don’t involve alcohol. For example, you can create a celebratory mocktail that becomes a tradition in your family. Alternatively, you may replace alcohol-related traditions with baked treats.

4. Volunteer

Volunteering combats inherent holiday triggers because it improves mental health considerably and creates a supportive environment. As such, it helps you stay sober for longer.

For example, volunteering shifts your focus from personal triggers and temptations to helping others. Additionally, giving back to the community creates a sense of purpose and fulfillment, which are very empowering for people in recovery. Participating in volunteering actions may also reduce the prevalent sense of isolation during the festive season and introduce new, healthy routines.^[4]

5. Mindful eating and drinking

Mindfulness is a holistic approach to addiction treatment that diminishes reactive behaviors to triggers, thus enabling you to use healthy coping mechanisms. Mindfulness may also be a valuable tool for holiday relapse prevention because it enhances self-awareness.^[5]

The holiday season is tied to traditions around certain meals and drinks, which may trigger hard-to-handle emotions related to substance abuse, past trauma, or eating disorders. Mindful eating helps you dissociate these food items from the subconscious reactions, thus stopping possible triggers leading to substance abuse.

Moreover, focusing on the pleasant experience of non-alcoholic drinks and meals increases your satisfaction and reduces the fear of missing out on festive alcohol consumption.

6. Prioritize rest

Resting is essential in relapse prevention because fatigue is linked to poor impulse control. Quality sleep improves mood and decreases reactive behavior. As a result, it allows you to resist cravings instead of returning to substance use as a coping mechanism.^[6]

Resting appropriately also decreases your stress and aggression levels, building resilience in recovery. Therefore, you can manage financial strain, unexpected guests, and difficult family relationships more healthily.

7. Set clear boundaries

Be upfront about your limits with friends and family. Let them know your commitment to sobriety and what kind of support you need from them.

Clear boundaries eliminate false expectations from your loved ones and alleviate the pressure you may feel. Moreover, reinforcing limits allows your family and friends to offer the type of support you need in your recovery journey.