Laura DraneChristmas and New Year can be a difficult time for people with substance misuse problems. The seductive adverts for booze and general party atmosphere can make it difficult to resist, even if you know that your drinking will not look like it does in the adverts!
It’s also often a seriously tricky time for compulsive over-eaters, sex & love addicts and codependents as we are bombarded with images of happy family gatherings, loving couples and heaps of food.
Shopping addictions can also spiral out of control over Christmas as retailers ramp up their advertising budgets and pull out all the stops to get us spending.
So how on earth do we manage to stay safe when there is so much temptation around?
Here are a few tips to keep you on the wagon over the Festive Season:
- Get to Fellowship meetings and connect with others who are not drinking / taking drugs / over-eating
- Concentrate on what you GAIN from not drinking / using rather than what you are LOSING eg: waking up without a hangover, being present for your family, not being an embarrassment to your friends
- Use the telephone to reach out to others when you are struggling
- Focus on the spiritual side of Christmas
- Volunteer and help those less fortunate than yourself
- Always have an ‘escape route’ if you are going into a difficult situation eg: have a friend you can call, drive yourself so you can leave when you want to, time-limit your stay
- Be nice to yourself and have some FUN
Happy holidays everyone!