With Thanksgiving fast approaching, many women in recovery face an important question. How can they maintain their sobriety on this festive day? After all, alcohol is traditionally an important part of many holidays, including Thanksgiving. By planning in advance, you can make the goal of staying sober much easier to achieve. A few women’s sober living tips will help you get prepared.
And don’t forget, Women’s Recovery is here to help you when you need a little extra support—during the holidays or otherwise. Call 833.754.0554 today for information about our women’s sober living program.
The Challenge of Sobriety on Thanksgiving
Holidays can be a mental and emotional challenge for anyone. Perhaps no other annual events have such an ability to produce stress and worry. If anything, the challenge is magnified for people in recovery. That’s true because stressful situations can significantly increase your urge to drink or use drugs. Women often play a central role in holiday planning and preparation. This means that maintaining sobriety on Thanksgiving may be even more difficult than it is for men.
Sober Holiday Tip #1: Plan Your Own Substance-Free Thanksgiving
It’s easier to stay sober when you maintain a substance-free environment. If someone else hosts a Thanksgiving dinner, you may not be able to ensure that this will happen. The situation changes when you host your own Turkey Day dinner. This approach makes it possible for you to:
- Make sobriety a watchword for the day
- Tell all attendees about your substance-free expectations in advance
- Plan a day that still emphasizes fun, friends, and family
Together, these steps will help you make your substance-free holiday event a success.
Sober Holiday Tip #2: Attend a Substance-Free Holiday Event
If you took part in a local rehab program, you might have peers nearby who are also trying to stay sober. The same will likely be true if you belong to a self-help group like AA. You may even know someone from a local women’s sober house. It’s good to maintain connections with these peers throughout the year. They may be especially valuable to you when the holidays arrive.
If you don’t have your own sober event planned, ask your recovery peers if they do. If the answer is yes, they may be happy for you to attend. Knowing that you can go to a substance-free event can make sobriety on Thanksgiving less of a challenge. Instead of worrying about encountering alcohol or drugs, you can rest easier and enjoy yourself.
Sober Holiday Tip #3: Get Help From Others Committed to Women’s Sober Living
Many people don’t have the option to plan or attend a sober holiday dinner. If that’s true for you, you still have options for sobriety support. Before Thanksgiving arrives, talk to friends or people from your self-help group. Together, you can create a system that allows you to:
- Check-in when the day’s festivities get underway
- Get in touch in a hurry should your alcohol or drug urges start to rise
- Have someone else hold you accountable for your actions
This backup system will help put your mind at ease. It may also have the added benefit of boosting your commitment to sobriety on Thanksgiving. Additionally, local peer support groups tend to still have meetings on holidays; some even add extra meetings during the particularly stressful holiday season.
Get Support for Maintaining Your Sobriety this Holiday Season from Women’s Recovery
No one understands the challenges of holiday sobriety more than the professionals at Women’s Recovery. Every day, we help women from all walks of life get and stay sober. Our many services include treatment programs for all forms of addiction. They also include a gender-specific women’s sober living house. This home is the perfect place to maintain sobriety as you transition back to everyday life following treatment.
Have questions about treatment or sobriety during the holiday season? Just call us today at 833.754.0554. You can also get more information on our programs by filling out our online form.
