Giving thanks when you’re caught up in the tailspin of drug or alcohol addiction isn’t easy, unless you or your loved one has started to break free from chemical dependency.
Before you get ready to break bread with family and friends, consider how holiday time could be better spent in recovery. The reasons might surprise you.
- A good night’s sleep. Rehab during the holidays allows the user and their loved ones time to restore personal livelihood. Knowing that a loved one is in a safe environment away from a drug of choice helps put worry to rest.
- Stop enabling. Holiday gatherings often include alcoholic beverages and additives in favorite desserts. It’s hard to indulge guilt-free when someone’s at the table drinking out of control.
- Removing undue stress. It’s hard to enjoy the holidays with an elephant in the room. Spending time with people who have untreated substance abuse is an elephant in the room. Rehab for the holidays takes a weight off of all concerned.
- Focus on positivity. The primary benefit of addiction rehab is that the user is finally putting their health first and it’s often the first positive, proactive step made in a long time. That’s something the entire family can cheer about.
- Healthy relationships to look forward to. Time away getting treatment for addiction is an emotional investment, invaluable to the person in recovery as well as everyone they know. It provides the stepping stone for healthier relationships across a lifetime.
Holiday stress affects everyone but for the addict, it can present a heightened level of anxiety, trauma and triggers for relapse. But there are precautions available.
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