What is the best way to enjoy alcohol-free Christmas festivities?

Staying sober at Christmas and maintaining Christmas sobriety can be a challenge. The holiday season is back again, featuring Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. For people struggling with alcohol addiction, the holidays can be difficult.

If you have had a drinking issue in the past, you may have strong memories associated with drinking during the holidays. Regarding drinking, our minds tend to block out the bad memories and hold on to the good memories.

However, once we have made a commitment to maintain sobriety and stay in recovery, it is important to navigate the Christmas party and New Years party, as well as various family gatherings, in order to have a wonderful sober holiday.

Unfortunately, family members can sometimes minimize the importance of sobriety during the festive season of Christmas and New Years. Even if you have been to an alcohol rehab, a loved one may assume that after alcohol treatment, you are ready to resume alcohol consumption.

While you want your family to honor your wishes to keep your Christmas sober, having the conversation about your recovery and sobriety with family can be difficult during the Christmas season.

How can I avoid the Christmas morning and New Year’s Day hangover?

During the Christmas period, when you are putting up the lights and Christmas decorations, and wrapping gifts, it is important in early recovery to make your sobriety a priority. Imagine that your sobriety is the biggest, most important gift you can give to yourself, and you must protect it at all costs.

Spending time with a sober friend can help to reinforce the importance of avoiding booze. If you are a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, you may find that increasing your meetings during the holidays helps with your alcohol addiction recovery.

For people who do not want to attend AA, there are other support groups, such as Celebrate Recovery and Smart Recovery. Spending time with like-minded friends and group members helps to keep your priorities of sobriety in perspective.

While the urge to drink wine, mulled wine, beer, Sangria, or other festive beverages may be strong, you will be happy to wake up sober on Christmas Day. No one ever woke up on Christmas morning, wishing that they had a hangover from drinking on Christmas Eve.

What if it is Christmas time and I have not stopped drinking yet?

Are you still drinking a bit too much alcohol, but you are waiting for New Years to make a New Year’s Resolution? How can you protect yourself from dangerous drinking binges during the Christmas season?

Fortunately, there are different ways to stop, or slow down alcohol consumption. For example, there is a harm reduction protocol known as pharmacological extinction.

This medication-assisted treatment plan to drink fewer alcoholic beverages is also known as The Sinclair Method, or TSM. The way it works is that the patient takes a naltrexone tablet one hour before they have an alcoholic drink.

A TSM doctor prescribes the naltrexone and explains to their patient how it works. Naltrexone helps to reduce compulsions to keep drinking after the first one or two drinks.

Additionally, naltrexone, an opioid receptor blocker, helps to reduce the urge to drink over time. People who follow TSM tend to drink less over the weeks and months following their first naltrexone and alcohol session.

A person following The Sinclair Method might take the naltrexone table one hour before Christmas dinner, so they may sip a glass of wine with the family. In most cases, TSM patients should not make their first use of naltrexone with alcohol in a social situation, in case they have side effects, such as an upset stomach.

For TSM treatment and addiction coaching in Fort Lauderdale, please contact us by phone or using the contact form on this website.

How do I get through the Christmas holiday party without getting drunk?

Holiday parties held by friends or office coworkers can be hard to avoid. Employers, coworkers, or friends tend to put on a lot of social pressure for everyone to attend, and also drink.

While it is possible to avoid alcohol during a holiday party, it is unfortunate that people seem to obsess over making sure that everyone at the party is drinking. Navigating a holiday party can feel like walking through a dangerous minefield.

If you are concerned about having a drink at the holiday party, triggering an alcohol binge, you might want to excuse yourself from attending. There are many excuses that can get you out of a “required” office party or party with friends.

Of course, the best way to get out of a party would be to tell the truth and let your friends or coworkers know that you prefer to avoid being around people when they are drinking. In a perfect world, that would be great, but unfortunately, people are not always so understanding.

So, if you have to tell them that you are feeling under the weather, or that your car broke down, it is fine, as long as it helps you to maintain your sobriety and important relationships. While honesty is a great policy, the stigma against alcoholism and recovery is strong in our society.

Alcohol is not good for anyone, and fortunately, sobriety is becoming more socially acceptable. The effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system are well-documented, and alcohol is a known carcinogen.

You have a right to protect your health and your happiness. Staying sober is good for your body, mind, and soul. When you are alcohol-free, you will discover that you are able to live a life of freedom and fulfillment.

Enjoy the holidays and the holiday spirit. If you celebrate Christmas, it is a great time to be with family and friends, thinking about the true meaning of the holiday and why it is such a festive time of celebration. Enjoy an alcohol-free Christmas!