Deck the halls with boughs of sobriety

The holiday season is upon us, which brings out socially acceptable drinking round’ the clock until after new years.

It can be very difficult for some to navigate the holidays while in recovery. I’m grateful to not have that problem, the holidays for me are incredibly cheerful. Hands down my favorite time of year. In my recovery journey, I’ve been able to almost entirely eliminate the desire to drink and use. I’ll outline a few tips and tricks that work for me to bring joy back to the holidays without the need to drink.

There are three things I would recommend highest on the list to ensure you thrive.

First

is making sobriety a part of your identity.

Second

is to leave early if you go out.

Lastly,

you don’t need to go to everything. There's a time to say no.

Making sobriety a part of my identity has helped me tremendously throughout the years. Especially in early recovery. When asked about alcohol, the answer would always be the same. Simply

“I don’t drink”

Every person in my life is aware that I don’t drink, they may not know the depths of the drug addiction I had or even that I was an alcoholic, but they know concretely that I do not drink. Sobriety is not something I debate, it’s as easy as saying I don’t like mustard; which is true. The more confidently we speak about something, the less questions we will get about it. 

When you do go out with friends or family, know when to leave.

I have a rule for myself, that I’m always home by 9pm and in bed before 10. That applies whether it's a regular night, someone's birthday, or even Christmas. Since sobriety is a part of your identity it’s normal for you to call it at a reasonable time and go home. There's nothing productive that happens that late anyhow. You’re a high performer, and need to be up early in the morning to hit your workout tomorrow. See? Living a disciplined life makes it easier.

Lastly, there's some events you do not need to go to. At this point in my life,

I can almost guarantee I will never get invited to a bar, nightclub, or party. The objective is to get you to that point as well. It starts with saying no. My first year in recovery, I said no to events all the time. It got to the point where I wouldn’t even get invited anymore because they knew I would say no and they didn’t want to waste their time. Being in recovery there's no reason to go to places that are meant to get drunk at. There’s no reason to go to the club.

Take that time to self improve so much your old friends don’t even recognize you anymore.

 Imagine what your life would look like if you went to the gym everyday while your old friends go to the bar. In a year you’ll be ripped, and they’ll be 10 pounds fatter complaining about all the things they chose not to change. You got this, sobriety is step number one, it's up to you to take yourself to the next level.