With the holiday season upon us, many people fall into the trap of picking up a drink or a drug. It’s tempting when you’re surrounded by friends and family and someone hands you a drink. Maybe your old friends are back in town and you go out for a fun night that quickly turns into smoking weed or something worse. There are relapse prevention techniques for the holidays that can help you or your loved one avoid those pitfalls. By strengthening your sobriety and overcoming your temptations, especially during the holiday season, you’ll be building a solid foundation for your future recovery.

You never know what’s going to happen over the holidays, whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, or the New Year. Some people even experience the “Holiday Blues” which is a time of sadness during these festivities. It could be for a variety of reasons, from lack of family contact to loneliness or changes in the weather. This could lead a person to relapse because numbing the depression can seem like a quick and easy solution. For example, if you relapse on Thanksgiving, this doesn’t mean you have to continue using and beating yourself up over that mistake.

These temporary lapses of judgment don’t have to define you and there’s plenty of steps you can take to avoid a relapse. We’ve put together a couple of the most effective relapse prevention techniques for the holidays that you can add to your arsenal when feeling a craving or fighting a trigger.

• Remember that preparation is the key to success. What are other ways to enjoy the day without drinking?
• Practice the HALT technique: avoid being too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired before attending a holiday social event
• Find new holiday activities and traditions that you may never have tried in the past which do not involve drinking alcohol (volunteer at a soup kitchen, go ice skating, have a sober get-together and gift exchange, see a movie, take a trip, and so much more)
• Beware if there are others in the family who see your abstinence as a negative comment on their choice to get hammered. It’s not at all unusual for such people to try to get you to join them.
• Take care of yourself prior to holiday gatherings and celebrations: get enough sleep, eat regularly, exercise, and remember to take it easy! (relax)

While trying to stay sober during the holiday season, it is an important time for addicts and alcoholics and those who may need help to reach out to resources that they may not have been utilizing.