It is easy to get overwhelmed by the holiday season, especially when you are in recovery and trying to remain sober. However, there are many things that you can do to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for the challenge of staying sober! Just remember to give yourself grace, use your sober safety tools, have a sober safety plan in place and remember to have fun.

Finding an effective path for you requires one to take space to understand the options that are available to you. Learning about the different types of addiction treatment is the first step in understanding what is going to work best for you!

Learn about Recovery Month and resources for those in recovery and their loved ones..

Does alcoholism or drug addiction run in your family? Are you married to someone or co-parenting with someone who struggles with drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, mental health issues or other things that affect your relationship with them? Are there times where you’re feeling angry and hurt because your loved one calls you drunk or abuses you during a mental health episode? Read here on ways to handle boundaries with family or loved ones with mental health issues.

The aim of substance abuse counseling is to help make your life better, rather than just suppressing substance use. Through substance abuse counseling, you and your therapist can explore ways in which your life without substances can become better than your life with substances.

Questions to consider in determining the extent of your substance use.

Sometimes when people think of substance addiction, they imagine extreme compulsive and habitual use of substances that results in severe negative consequences. Substance addiction, however, can look different from person to person.

Recovery from an addiction can be extremely difficult and uncomfortable. A lack of hope and feeling of being trapped can feel overwhelming. It can be helpful to seek outside help from an addictions counselor to navigate the long and difficult road to recovery.