If you are struggling to cope with or overcome substance abuse disorder, the holidays can be a very stressful time. For many people, the holiday season can be the most difficult time of the year, especially when dealing with stress, pressure, and celebrations that occur during this season. For people who are working to heal from addiction, the most important step is to make sure that you get the medical care and treatment that you need. You may need intensive inpatient treatment from qualified professionals at a xanax addiction rehab center or you may seek treatment from another medical care provider for your own personal struggling with chemical dependency and addictive behavior. Either way, getting help is the first step. Once you have made sure that you have the medical support that you need, from doctors, nurses, therapists, prescribers, and other healers, you can confidently move forward towards your own healing.
For many people, the hardest thing about staying sober during the holidays is dealing with all of the stress and anxiety that comes with it. This can be extra hard for women, who are often tasked with more of the responsibilities for holiday care, especially if they are planning celebrations with family members or are taking care of young children during the holidays. Unfortunately, many women turn to dangerous substances to help them to cope with the stress. They may not know about the dangers of anti anxiety medications and the extremely high potential for abuse that they have. No matter what your own addiction history is like, one of the most important things that you can do during the holidays is to find ways to deal with stress that are healthy and don’t involve any substance use.
Some of the best ways of coping with stress and staying sober during the holidays are also good for you and your body throughout the year. Meditation, which can be practiced by anyone at any time and in any place, helps people to regulate their emotions, find healthy ways to deal with stress, and manage their anxiety levels. Mindfulness, which is often linked to meditation and can be used alongside it, also helps people avoid getting sucked into a spiral of anxiety and depression by helping you to stay aware of reality and in control of yourself at all times.
Like meditation, yoga can also be used to manage stress, anxiety, and depression throughout the year, though they may be especially helpful during the holidays. Yoga comes with the additional benefit of helping to keep you flexible and fit. For people who have a history of substance abuse, taking good care of themselves should be a top priority. Yoga also helps people to learn to control their breathing, which can be useful when someone is experiencing acute anxiety like a panic attack.
When it comes to celebrating the holiday, it can be difficult for people to come up with new rituals and traditions that do not involve alcohol or chemical use. Luckily, with a little bit of thought, you can easily make substitutions for many of these traditions. For example, you can choose non-alcoholic champagne to make your toast on New Year’s Eve, and you can easily find non-alcoholic eggnog at your local grocery store to enjoy on Christmas or any other winter holiday. If you plan to go to any parties during the holidays, you may want to talk to the host or hostess about providing options that you can enjoy as well. Or, you can save yourself the trouble and simply bring your own non-alcoholic drinks to any party that you attend. In fact, if you do choose to do this, you may be surprised to find out how many other partygoers also want to avoid drinking at the party and join you in staying sober for the party. You may even meet new people who are in recovery and find some friends who share this with you!
Finally, make sure that you take time during this holiday season to take care of yourself. Women are often asked to take on too many projects, and during the holidays this can increase. If you don’t have time to volunteer, host your family, or shop for everyone, don’t do it. Don’t apologize for taking time to heal yourself, either. This year you can happily celebrate in sobriety.