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For those battling addiction, the holidays are laden, even in the best of times, with pitfalls that could trigger a relapse. It鈥檚 the time of year when people tend to eat more, drink more, idle more. Routines get disrupted. Expectations go unrealized.

Then there are those for whom the holidays also mean toxic family dynamics, unsafe living conditions, or intense isolation and loneliness.

In 2020, add to that the stress of a global pandemic and rising social unrest.

With all of this going on, self-care routines can fall by the wayside, said Margaret Giles, coordinator for the Alcohol and Drug Education and Psychology Training (ADEPT) Center at 91香蕉视频成人在线. Giles to offer useful tips and strategies that mental health professionals could use to help clients with substance abuse issues approach this season in a healthy way.

Write a Breakup Letter to Alcohol

A client will be attending a family event where people will want to enjoy an alcoholic beverage with their meal. She feels that not attending is not an option, but fears that her troubles with alcohol misuse will tempt her to drink. How can a clinician help her manage the situation?

Ask her to write a breakup letter to alcohol, said Gayl Crump Swaby, director of the clinical mental health program at Springfield College.

Think about a bad relationship with a former romantic partner, Crump Swaby advised. Then think of alcohol as a bad relationship. 鈥淪ay to alcohol: We鈥檙e broken up. The relationship is over. We will see each other at events, but we won鈥檛 be engaging with each other.鈥�

The client can even keep the letter with them. When at a family function where alcohol is being served, she can consult the letter and even share it with others. This strategy may be useful in communities of color, she said, where sustaining family bonds is so important that absence can be akin to insult.

Spend the Holidays Without Family

Families have traditions and longstanding dynamics. Triggers abound, but in many cases stepping away for talks with a sponsor or time alone won鈥檛 be received well. People will feel offended. As a result, clients may miss a meeting, stop self-care routines and drop healthy habits. It could be the start of relapse.

So why not consider skipping the family reunion altogether?

鈥淲hat鈥檚 best for the family system and the homeostasis of the family system isn鈥檛 always what鈥檚 best for the individual in recovery,鈥� said Miriam Ervin, a mental health counselor who specializes in treating adolescents and young adults with substance addiction.

Coach clients on how to have that straightforward call with family members, said Ervin. Roleplay that conversation. The good news is that keeping healthy boundaries with family means they can hold healthy boundaries with anyone.

Self-Efficacy, Harm Reduction and Self-Awareness

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of fear with holidays approaching. It can feel to them that relapse just magically sneaked up on them,鈥� said Danielle L. Owen, an alcohol and drug counselor. Drawing on the , she has clients stay in front of relapse by working on self-efficacy, harm reduction and self-awareness.

Help clients understand that they can handle the pressure, and that you believe they have the skills to get through it, said Owens. They may hit a wall if that confidence isn鈥檛 there. Point out the times where you recognized them setting and achieving goals. Build on small victories.

Limit the opportunities for relapse by defining what relapse would be for them, she said. Get their definition; don鈥檛 impose one on them. Remember: This is their recovery journey.

One quick and easy technique for clients to use is the acronym HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired). By identifying that a common mental or physiological state leaves them more vulnerable to cravings, they can more easily spot the seeds of relapse before it happens.

Let鈥檚 Be Together: Help, but Don鈥檛 Enable

What if the client isn鈥檛 the person with a substance use disorder, but rather a mother or father worried about what to expect when a son or daughter who has been struggling with misuse of alcohol comes home? He or she may be asking: Should drinking be present at all?

It鈥檚 important to distinguish between what鈥檚 helpful and what鈥檚 enabling. 鈥淓nabling is essentially love that looks like fear,鈥� said Felice Lopez, a mental health counselor in Framingham, Mass. Trying to control someone鈥檚 access to alcohol can be enabling. Listening and being attentive is helping. 鈥淏e the person that she can turn to,鈥� she advises. Foster mutual respect and trust that she鈥檒l move to recovery in her own time.

As for whether to serve or hide alcohol, according to Lopez, the question for the client is really: What do you want the holiday to look like? Once the role of alcohol has been decided, clear and realistic house rules should be established for all guests to follow, so the client won鈥檛 feel singled out and controlled. Family members should be notified and told they鈥檙e welcome to join on those terms.

Spend the Holidays with a New Type of Family

Healing is about change and seeing things from different perspectives. The holidays are an opportunity to start developing those skills, said John Meigs, director of the substance use and addictions counseling concentration at William James.

Perhaps that new perspective comes from spending the holidays with a recovery community instead of family. In the spirit of seeing things differently, reframe your client鈥檚 coming absence in a positive light, as an act of giving rather than loss.

鈥淲hat a gift you can give to your family, letting them know that you鈥檙e safe, that you鈥檙e taking care of yourself,鈥� said Meigs. 鈥淎nd you are kind of giving them peace in some ways.鈥�

These tips were originally shared in that is now available on the 91香蕉视频成人在线 YouTube channel.

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