Many of us look forward to the New Year celebrations but for those undergoing drug rehabilitation or alcohol addiction treatment, this can be a particularly challenging time.
Whether this time of year simply makes you feel lonely, financial pressures overwhelm you or all the parties make you feel tempted to take drugs or drink alcohol, below are some great tips to help you stay sober this New Year.
Avoid wild parties
If sobriety is new to you or you know this is something you really struggle with at this time of year, your safest bet is to avoid parties altogether. It’s understandable that it’s not nice to feel like you’re missing out but not attending one party is far less traumatic than falling off the wagon.
Host your own New Year’s Eve party
Hosting your own party is a fantastic way to ensure you don’t miss out on the fun while still being able to control what’s going on around you. Friends and family will no doubt do everything they can to help you when they know you’re struggling so ask them to join you for an alcohol-free gathering so you can still enjoy the festivities without being surrounded by temptation.
Think how far you’ve come
Whenever you feel tempted to fall off the wagon, think about how far you’ve come in your recovery efforts. Even just realizing that you needed drug or alcohol addiction help was a huge step forward.
Also remind yourself why you made the decision to get sober in the first place. Aside from your own health and wellbeing, there is probably something or someone else that’s driving you. Perhaps it’s your job, partner, family or children – whatever your reasons, keep reminding yourself why you’re doing this and why it’s so important to stay strong.
Seek extra counselling
There is absolutely no shame in asking for extra alcohol or drug addiction help at times you know you’re going to struggle more than usual. Battling an addiction is hard work and there are going to be times when you’re going to be at higher risk of relapse so it’s important to ask for extra help during the more challenging times.
If you already see a counsellor, ask for extra sessions and if you don’t normally speak to someone, book yourself an appointment as soon as you can. Your doctor will also be able to help and there are also many support groups with people going through the same as you and can therefore talk you through all the different coping mechanisms.
Adopt healthier habits
The New Year is a great time to develop new, healthier habits but there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t work on this before 2018 is here.
Association is of course one of the most difficult parts of overcoming an addiction. For example, if every New Year’s Eve you traditionally go to the pub for drinks with a group of friends, it’s going to be incredibly difficult not to do this or think about it the whole night even if you decide not to go. Ask your friends if they would mind going out for dinner instead so the focus isn’t just on drinking or alternatively, make plans with a completely different group of people and form new traditions which aren’t going to leave you feeling tempted to drink or take drugs.
If you feel that you’re struggling this festive period and would like to speak to a drug and alcohol addiction counsellor, please feel free to contact Toronto Trauma and Addiction Counselling in the strictest of confidence and we will be more than happy to help.
