Facing the Holidays in Recovery

Facing the Holidays in Recovery

Recovery from substance abuse is a life-changing experience that defines your inner strength and ability
to overcome unimaginable strongholds. Use this inner resilience to celebrate the holidays and your new
healthy lifestyle without compromising your personal growth by managing your triggers, cravings, and
urges with a relapse prevention plan.

Managing Triggers
Triggers are things we encounter that prompt an unhealthy behavioral response, like the use of
substances to cope with reminders of our previous behaviors or traumatic experiences. Certain people or
places may pose as triggers for relapse, as well as specific emotions, thoughts, images of drugs, and
familiar situations – even smells can trigger a memory and initiate cravings. During the holidays, triggers
increase as we typically have added stressors like financial concerns, family conflict, longer work hours,
and increased social gatherings. Maintaining abstinence during the holidays may prove more difficult
when we experience social isolation or estrangement from family, however, some triggers come disguised
as celebrations such as a holiday or birthday. Identifying personal triggers and accepting the
responsibility for managing them is a crucial part of recovery.

Managing Cravings
Drug cravings significantly increase the risk of relapse, may continue to occur many years into recovery,
and can last as long as 20 minutes after cravings and urges begin (Product Prototypes to Combat Drug
Craving Challenge, 2022). Healthy distractions, yoga, meditation, and social support may help to
decrease the relapse potential during intense cravings and urges to use a drug. Maintaining a healthy
lifestyle may help decrease relapse potential (healthy diet, regular exercise, sufficient sleep, and proper
hydration), as does remaining actively involved with your community and sober friendships.

Relapse Prevention
Managing triggers, cravings, and urges to effectively prevent relapse requires planning, the ability to
proactively avoid risky situations, or utilizing effective coping skills when avoidance is not an option. A
relapse prevention plan identifies personal triggers, healthy ways to respond to those triggers, and people
to contact if social support becomes necessary. It is sometimes difficult in the face of a trigger to explain
to a friend or family member what you need from them, so explain this to them beforehand. If you find it
difficult to ask for help, share with them a code word to indicate that you are in a potential relapse
situation so that they understand what you need when you contact them for support.

In Closing
As the holidays quickly approach, take measures to protect the sobriety you worked so hard
to achieve! If you find that the holidays or other celebrations pose a relapse trigger for you, create new
traditions that promote abstinence and involve recovering friends and family members in these traditions.
If you experience a lapse or relapse, know that this is a common occurrence and is considered part of the
recovery process (Louie, 2021). Remember that you are not starting over from Day 1; consider it a
temporary setback. Examine the events leading up to the relapse episode to identify specific triggers that
contributed to the behavior, seek out possible holes in your relapse prevention plan, then apply the new
knowledge to be better equipped for future situations. If you need help creating a rock-solid relapse
prevention plan, a mental health professional can help. Call our office today to schedule an appointment
with one of our licensed clinical addiction specialists.
Happy holidays!

References

Louie, S. (2021, May 11). Relapse Is a Part of Recovery. Retrieved from Psychology Today:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/minority-report/202105/relapse-is-part-recovery
Product Prototypes to Combat Drug Craving Challenge. (2022, October 19). Retrieved from National

Institute on Drug Abuse: https://nida.nih.gov/research/nida-research-programs-activities/nida-
challenges-program/product-prototypes-combat-drug-craving

By Vicki Howe, LCMHC, LCAS
​#holidaysinrecovery

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