Sober New Year

As this year winds down, you are looking forward to a sober new year that is bound to much different from the past several you have experienced. In order to get to that point, you have undergone detox and many sessions of both personal and individual therapy. Maybe you are now attending weekly support groups and continued counseling. You are also getting anxious about the holiday festivities that are everywhere. Maybe you are looking forward to getting together with people who you have lost touch with over time. Maybe, like many, you are worried about handling a dysfunctional family without the artificial support you once depended on.  What you may be most anxious about is New Year’s Eve, the holiday that has come to be almost synonymous with drinking. In order to face a sober new year, you must first have a sober night before. It is possible.

Alternatives Are Available

More and more places are offering alternatives to drinking parties on New Year’s Eve. If you are interested in church, you can always find one or two places that have events that night. If that isn’t something that interests you, check out community centers, discuss having a sober new year event with supportive friends or family, or consider checking out what may be going on with a familiar support group you attend regularly. Programs that have alumni activities, may have some special event planned to help start the sober new year. Alternatives are out there, you just need to look.

Start a Tradition

If you can’t find an event you want to attend, why not start your own Sober New Year tradition? Invite friends and family to your place if it is big enough or plan to meet somewhere for dinner and fun activities that will keep your mind off drinking. Plan a board game night or volunteer at a local children’s hospital or nursing home. The joy you will find there will not only be contagious but will keep your mind away from areas it doesn’t need to wander to.

If you start feeling urges, you can call someone else who supports your sober new year efforts or you can do mindfulness or relaxation exercises until the craving passes. Think about all the things you want to do with your new sober life and let that help you through. Think about something you have wanted to do or buy and set up a reward for yourself for making it through the festivities sober. Make it a reward that is so special that you won’t be able to consider not succeeding. Then follow through!

New Year, New You

You have worked hard to get to the point you are standing at now. The future ahead is so much brighter for you than it was this time last year. You can make it through the holidays and New Year’s Eve. As you face this new year and a new you that is drug and alcohol-free, take stock of where you’ve been and then allow the past to stay where it belongs, behind you. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, you have been through the fire and are ready to rise again–a brand-new year, a brand-new life, a brand new you!

Phoenix Rising Can Help

If you are ready to experience a sober new year, now is the time to reach out and give us a call 8552328211. We believe you can have many years of sobriety in the future and believing in yourself enough to reach out is the first step. Give yourself the gift of sobriety this year. It’s a gift that can change your life forever.