Integral Recovery Survival Tips for the Holidays

Put your practice first and your sobriety first. 

Hanging out with family can often be very challenging, so make sure you have a plan of how you’re going to take care of yourself.

I have found that if I ratchet up my meditation practice from 1 hour to 1.5 hours a day while visiting family, this really helped.

Have a getaway plan — bring your own car (or rent one). There’s nothing worse than getting stuck in a dysfunctional situation with no place to go and no way to get there.

Consider getting your own motel room, rather than staying with your family. This gives you a place of refuge, where you can go when you’ve had enough.

Also, plan for your physical practice: find out where the local gyms are, what their hours are, or where you can go running – nature trails, etc.

Realize that holidays are very challenging and are often the most difficult times for those of us in early recovery.

If you do 12-step meetings, find out where the local meetings are.

Make sure you have your support people, whom you can text, call, or Skype, if things get rough.

Remember, families are a great place to practice, and help us to understand, forgive ourselves, forgive others, and become mindful of our conditionings and patterns.

And remember most of all, the greatest gift you have to give is your own beautiful, sober, in-recovery self.

God bless, and happy holy holidays.