Category: relapse

Relapse & the holidays

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If you’re in recovery, you may find the holidays to be a challenging time. The increased stress of the season puts many people in recovery at risk of relapse. Family gatherings can be especially worrisome. Though families can be a source of great support, it can be difficult to be around people who have seen you at your lowest. Memories of earlier disappointments, resentment from those you may have hurt, and guilt over your past behavior may tempt you to turn to drugs and/or alcohol to cope.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate the holidays and avoid relapse:

  • Talk to your loved ones: Sit down with your family members before the holidays to discuss any concerns you have about the upcoming festivities and let them know what, if anything, might trigger your cravings for drugs or alcohol.
  • Prepare ahead of time: If you’re attending a holiday party, plan to arrive early and leave early, as drinking tends to increase as the night goes on. Consider bringing your own non-alcoholic beverages to make sure you have something to drink.
  • Take care of yourself: Exhaustion and depression are common relapse triggers. Engage in self-care by getting enough sleep, eating healthily, exercising regularly, and taking time for quiet restoration, such as through meditation, nature walks or reading.
  • Have an escape plan: If a situation arises at a gathering, such as an argument or pressure to use, that may trigger you to relapse, remove yourself from that situation as quickly as possible. That may mean leaving altogether, finding a quiet spot to meditate, or calling your sponsor or peer recovery coach.

If you do relapse, don’t be too hard on yourself – it’s not uncommon this time of the year, and guilt and shame will only hinder your recovery. Focus on getting the help you need to get back on track. Call our Admissions office at 866-888-7880 and we’ll help you.

For more information about relapse and how to prevent it, click here.

Celebrating with your sober sweetheart

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Two of the most common relapse triggers are relationships and holidays, making Valentine’s Day an especially tough day for people in recovery. There are many reasons why this day can be a trigger, including:
  • You feel pressure to make the day extra special to make up for past disappointments;
  • You’re single and unhappy about it; or
  • You don’t know how to celebrate sober.

Here are some tips to stay clean and sober this Valentine’s Day: 
  • Relax. Talk to your partner about your concerns and work together to find ways to make the day special. Lifehacker has some great tips for a stress-free holiday, whether you’re in a relationship or single.
  • Find new ways to celebrate. Stay in and make a dinner for two instead of going out. Have a mocktail party with your single friends in recovery. Or go to a comedy club and forget about Valentine’s Day altogether. Want more ideas? Here are 10 more.
  • Get some perspective. Instead of focusing on yourself and your relationship (or lack of one), volunteer with a nonprofit, reach out to your peers in recovery, or do something nice for your community. 

Remember, Valentine’s Day means loving yourself too. Have any tips of your own? Leave them in the comments!

Recovery and the holidays

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This article by Dr. Peter Provet, president and CEO of Odyssey House, originally appeared as a guest post on the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s “Pushing Back” blog in 2009.

For individuals with substance use disorders, the Holiday Season brings ambivalent feelings, at best. Memories of past disappointment, pain, and emptiness – and the self-destructive attempts at self-medicating them – are close at hand. Anger towards others and guilt for one’s own failures drive the addict to try to forget. The “party,” followed by subsequent “runs” and “binges,” are largely the addict’s attempt to forget, to erase a painful past, while pretending that momentary intoxication will cure years of emotional and physical suffering.
Like so many psychological defenses, however, “forgetting” the past – sweeping it under the rug – is ineffective. Without insight, resolution, and closure, the addict’s destiny is to repeat: to repeat patterns of maladaptive behaviors fueled by wish fulfillment and the press for instant gratification.
The addict in treatment learns and relearns this day after day. At Odyssey House, we liken treatment to constantly holding a mirror up to the addict’s face. It is through seeing oneself deeply – one’s attitudes, personality style, motives, social skills, work ethic, family responsibilities – that renewed memories can be evolved, a new sense of self forged, and hope for the future restored.
Treatment does work, though it is hard work. First and foremost it takes commitment, as recovery is a lifelong task.
Just as the Holidays are a time of increased relapse, they can also be a time of resolution and resolve. Individual addicts can commit or recommit to a sober life and families can participate in that commitment. Just as every addict has gone through a long course of struggle and compromise, so has the family.
The family has experienced great hardship and tried so many approaches to help their addicted loved one. Love, support, encouragement, anger, limit-setting and separation are just some of the common familial reactions to the addict. And just as the individual addict has lived on an emotional roller coaster, so too has the family. And just as the individual can not simply forget – obliterate – the past, neither can the family.
Families need to go through their own healing process and should, whenever feasible, be involved in their loved one’s treatment. Analogous to the addict’s process, the family must also seek resolution and closure. Respect for the addict’s commitment to sobriety and the recovery process is essential – however, it must be tempered with moderate expectations, where understandable skepticism only slowly gives way to optimism and confidence.
Throughout the Holiday Season at Odyssey House, we try our best to be mindful of these complex individual and family issues, all the while staying diligently hopeful. Celebrating the redemptive nature of the human spirit is as important in the world of recovery as it is anywhere.

Recovery & the Holidays

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The White House Office of Drug Control Policy blog, “Pushing Back” features a guest post from Odyssey House President & CEO Peter Provet about the challenges and opportunities the Holiday Season brings people in recovery and their families.

Here’s an excerpt:

For individuals with substance abuse disorders, the Holiday Season brings ambivalent feelings, at best. Memories of past disappointment, pain, and emptiness- and the self-destructive attempts at self-medicating them – are close at hand. Anger towards others and guilt for one’s own failures drive the addict to try to forget through momentary intoxication.

 

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