Tips for the Holidays

Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health Center Counselor Rennie Grant (Roc) and Psychiatrist Dr. Tony Massey (Doc) answer your questions about addiction and recovery. Today, we talk tips for the holidays.

Let’s be real. The holidays present all kinds of challenges for people in early recovery. Family parties. Work parties. Unique pressures. Social media news feeds flaunting reminders of holiday high times.

Despite that few of these “good old days” ever had any redemptive value, you can tend to look back misty-eyed — lavishing a false romance on something that was slowly killing you.

Anyway, this is a new year. Our eyes have been opened. Recovery has been a challenge but we know it’s way better than the alternative. So we want to go into this holiday season with gratitude and fortitude — knowing that we’ll never regret using the tools we’ve gathered along the way.

So yes, you may very well find yourself in some social settings where the liquid merriment is flowing with tinsel and bows on. Yep. These are the people you work with. Or live with. Or both. And the last thing you want is to be a buzz kill. These are, after all, the holidays.

Got a plan? What will you say if you’re offered that drink? Or whatever else is making the rounds. You should probably think it through ahead of time.

We hear a lot about the effect that people, places, and things can have on recovery. Especially early recovery. The holidays can have a way of messing with your mind. Memories, both good and bad, combined with specific people, places, lights, and all the wrappings can be a powerful draw. But there are ways to rise above it. Roc & Doc talk tips for the holidays in this episode.