Keeping On Track of Your Substance Use Goals Over the Holidays

By Marianne Wylie, MSW, RSW

​It is that time of year! For many people the Holidays season is a time of joy, fun and laughter filled with family gatherings, lots of holiday foods, and celebrations. While many people are looking forward to the holidays, for others, it can be a difficult time where family conflicts and feelings of loneliness arise, or depression and anxiety symptoms worsen. All of these situations can make people vulnerable for relapse on their substance use goals.
 
This time of year, I often have people who are attending counselling express concern for managing their substance use goals over the holidays or they come back in the new year feeling low about having used/drunk. I wanted to share with you some helpful coping strategies to effectively cope with holiday stresses to prevent relapse on your substance use goals. (Goals can include harm reduction goals like reduced use and abstinence). Preplanning how you will cope with difficult situations or cravings is a key aspect of increasing success over the holidays.

Holiday Relapse Prevention Tips:

• Reduce vulnerability with HALT. HALT means exactly that, STOP what you are doing and take the time address:

1. Hunger: Going too long without food can be harder to fight off cravings and cope with depression anxiety. Be sure to eat; bring a snack when out.
2. Anger: Emotions sends us a message about how we are affected by our environment. If you find yourself feeling angry and irritable, pause, take a breath, and take time to reflect on what is triggering you and explore healthy releases to anger (such as exercise and talking it out).
3. Loneliness: We may feel lonely because we don’t have people we care about around or we are with people but we feel they don’t understand or feel emotionally distant from them. Take a moment to see where this feeling is coming from. Consider surrounding yourself around supportive people. Call a trusted friend or family member, contact your sponsor, elder, or go a self-help meeting (ie: AA, NA, Al-Anon, etc). If you are finding yourself surrounded by supportive people and still feel lonely, take a moment to see what negative thoughts are feeding the loneliness.
4. Tiredness: We all know how hard it can be to function after a poor night’s sleep. It can be harder to manage cravings, anxiety and depression; we may become more irritable and it can be harder to fight off negative thinking. Take the time prioritize the rest and sleep needed over the holidays. Getting adequate sleep has shown to reduce the frequency and intensity of cravings.

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• Set boundaries with loved ones. Feeling overwhelmed? Consider saying no or ask for help.
• Engage in self-care. It is very important to engage in activities that rejuvenate your well-being. Spend time with someone, play a sport, read a book, have a bath, wrap yourself up in a cozy blanket, light a scented candle, spend time with a pet. What is your favourite thing to do?
• Substitute alcohol or drugs with something else. If you know there is going to be drinks offered at a gathering, bring your own drink (ie: soda, juice).
• If you are going out to a gathering where drugs or alcohol will be there, have a pre-planned escape route. By this I mean, have a plan for when and how you will leave the situation before you reach the “point of no return” - when you know you will use and go against your goal. This might mean having a code word with a friend indicating it is time to leave.
• Have local crisis numbers handy.
• Let your support people know your relapse prevention plan - tell your elder, sponsor, a trusted friend/family member. Perhaps they can even be part of the plan. Some people find that if they share their plan with trusted people it increases commitment to the plan.
• Ride the Wave of the craving/temptation. Cravings are like waves; the intensity of a craving will increase over several minutes until it hits its peak. Then will drop back down. Remember that: it will come back down. Use deep breathing, encouraging thoughts and distraction to help yourself through it.

​If harm reduction is your goal, consider these additional tips:
 

• Use only with people you know and trust and in a comfortable, safe environment.
• Get supplies from your local Needle Exchange programs ahead of time.
• Set a maximum number of drinks or drugs to be used in one day/night. Keep in mind that once you use, even a little, it can lower inhibition making it harder to decline or stop.
• Delay your next use or drink. Space it out - use non-alcoholic drinks between your drinks.
• Be sure that you have eaten a healthy meal before use.
• Know when the local Supervised Injection Site is open.

 
Finally, if you do find that you have gone against your substance use goal pay attention to your thoughts about it - was it a slip or a relapse? A slip is when you have gone against your goal but you don’t let it get you down. You view it as a learning opportunity for the future and you get right back on your path. A relapse happens when guilt and shame of the use controls how you feel and leads to more use. Having a positive and compassionate view about the use can make it easier for you to get back on track and help you feel better.
 
Have a safe and enjoyable Holiday Season!