How To Stay Sober This Christmas And Still Have Some Fun

There is barely a week left until Christmas, and while it's a time of joy for many, it is a hard time for a few others who have a very difficult relationship with alcohol.

With the pandemic and spending a lot of time in isolation, people turned to alcohol for comfort, and found themselves in a rabbit hole. Now that Christmas parties are lining up, folks who are trying to stay away from cocktails and other alcoholic beverages are going to have a tough time fighting the urge to have one small drink.

Sometimes, people who plan to end the night with a drink or two end up consuming a lot more than their body can handle. The fact that a lot of these celebrations are centered around alcohol just makes it all the harder for people to say no to drinking.

Peer pressure leads to binge drinking and to avoid that, the most important thing to do is to space out your drinks during the day. Brian Dugan, a registered dietician and nutritionist in Chicago, said being mindful of balance and moderation is key, per USA Today.

"Over the holidays, it can be quite challenging to manage alcohol," Dugan said. "In reality, all forms of drinking can be unhealthy. It's best practice to be mindful by spreading drinks out over the course of the day and sip to be social versus drinking really fast. Staying hydrated is really important even while drinking alcohol."

But, if you want to completely avoid alcohol during the holiday season, then the best thing for you to do is let people know. Tell them in advance that you are choosing to stay away from it, per Keloland.

“If you believe you shouldn’t or don’t want to drink during the holidays, just tell people. People are astonishingly receptive to ‘this is how it would be easier for me’ or ‘this is how you can help me in this thing I’m trying to do,’ so say so,” said Jon Sommervold, Executive Director of a sober living facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota told Keloland.

“There is great joy in sobriety. This is not just a struggle. The other side of the mountain exists, and on the other side of the mountain are promises that none of us understood would be ours — to have honest and complete relationships with people — to be part of the recovery community,” he added.