You cannot deny it, Christmas is coming. And with it comes parties, celebrations, stress, family and tons of shopping. This can be a hugely anxious time for those new to or struggling with a sober life as we get bombarded from every direction it seems by the lure of party food and booze.

Should you attend your works Christmas party and stand in the corner all night feeling uncomfortable?
Or stay at home in safety and wait for it all to go away?

Stop drinking/drugging/binge eating now?
Or start your detox after Christmas/Valentines/Easter/your birthday?
(Is there ever a good time?)

I remember my first ever sober Christmas, it was 2011 and I just couldn’t believe that at aged 39 I had never experienced the festive period without copious amounts of drugs or booze. In my younger days I would have purchased a huge amount of cocaine to consume on Christmas Eve which meant that Christmas day passed by in a blur of downer and despair and back then I wouldn’t have even considered staying in and not doing that. Then New Year was another massive binge with a cocktail of cocaine, ecstasy and alcohol over a 48 hour period in a club; all of this I called ‘fun’.

Many worry when they stop drinking and drugging that they are going to become ‘boring’, but looking back on my past behaviour I can honestly say that THAT is what I now would call boring. Getting so ‘off it’ that I couldn’t remember conversations or what had happened during the night is boring, having a shit nights sleep because my body is furiously ridding the poison it’s been fed is boring, and feeling like death warmed up the next day is boring.However, feeling free in my head and leaving the party a little earlier than most is what I now perceive as ‘fun’; crawling into bed with my wits about me and completing my evening routine is what makes me feel ALIVE, and waking up the next day feeling smug and ready for the day ahead gives me all of the feelings that I want in my life: freedom, connection, joy, LOVE.
And as I now move towards my sixth sober Christmas I wouldn’t have it any other way and this is how I WANT and CHOOSE to live my life. But how are YOU feeling now that we are in the month of December?