{"id":1568,"date":"2023-12-14T12:34:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T17:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/?p=1568"},"modified":"2023-12-14T12:34:02","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T17:34:02","slug":"20-ways-to-maintain-recovery-during-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/2023\/12\/14\/20-ways-to-maintain-recovery-during-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Ways to Maintain Recovery During the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author Unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    \n
  1. The 24-hour plan (or Minute by Minute): Each day of the holiday, choose not to get high that day without thinking too far ahead. If one day at a time gets too hard, take it an hour at a time. If that gets too hard, take it a minute at a time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Daily Dial-In: Put your counselor on speed dial for regular holiday check-ins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Attend recovery support groups near your home during the holiday season.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Make a “Top Five.” Five people you can call if you’re craving alcohol or drugs. Let them know you will be calling them for support!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Family function: Ask for support from non-drug using relatives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Strength training. Regular exercise is a powerful tool for building your recovery muscles and improving your fitness. Like drugs and alcohol, exercise releases dopamine and endorphins, the hormones that make you feel happy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Change your routes. Avoid triggers by listing and staying away from places where you used to drink or use.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Connect with your sponsor. If you have a 12-step sponsor, check in with them daily.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Soothe your spirit: Engage in activities daily that uplift your spirit, like meditation, yoga, prayer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Write about it. Keep a daily gratitude journal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Give back! Volunteer your time or services during the holiday.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Graceful exits. If you’re at an event and feel tempted to get high, give yourself permission to leave early.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. Mission statement: Write a letter to yourself entitled: “This is how I plan to stay sober during the holiday.” Mail it to yourself in a holiday card!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  14. Benefits Plan: Write a letter to yourself on the benefits of recovery during the holiday. Remind yourself that you won’t know the benefits until you experience them. There’s so much to look forward to!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  15. Avoid HALT during the holiday: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  16. Plan ahead. Predict high-risk situations and let your counselor know how you
    will deal with each situation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  17. Take 10. If you’re craving a drink or drugs, wait 10 minutes, then 10
    more minutes. Do something with your hands that takes you away from the cravings in your head: sweep the floor, vacuum, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  18. Think it forward: If you ‘re thinking about using, think about how you will feel the next day if you’re hungover or sober.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  19. Tune in, not out (or play it forward): Create your special recovery playlist. Include songs from any season that inspire you to maintain your recovery. Keep this playlist on your phone as a handy tool to tum to resist triggers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  20. Walk about. The holiday season brings longer days and less sunlight, but a brisk walk in nature under a starry winter sky can restore your spirit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Author Unknown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[207,8,4,3,10,7,9],"tags":[15,21,91,17,16,6,51,37,20,34],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ben Biddick","author_link":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/author\/bbiddick\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Author Unknown","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1570,"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1568\/revisions\/1570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unified.co.grant.wi.gov\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}