The holidays are often a time for family gatherings, which can be especially difficult if you’re in recovery. Setting boundaries during the holidays will help you protect your sobriety and stick to your long-term goals. Having good boundaries will also strengthen your overall happiness, well-being, and sense of self-empowerment.
Why Setting Boundaries Is So Important
Generally speaking, healthy boundaries are self-imposed limitations that allow you to feel safe, secure, and empowered. Boundaries are here to help you gain a sense of peace while protecting your mental, emotional, and physical health.
You can set boundaries with other people and with yourself. Boundaries can also be set around activities, events, or behaviors you will or will not tolerate. For example, you can set a boundary around consuming drugs or alcohol.
Boundaries Help With Triggers During the Holiday Season
During the holiday season, you may feel more triggered to use substances than usual. Spending time with your family can cause heightened anxiety that can trigger the desire to self-medicate.
Holiday parties may also be a natural setting for substances like alcohol. This is why it’s even more important to stay firm with your boundaries during this time.
Setting Boundaries in Recovery
Boundaries are especially important when you’re learning how to incorporate healthy new people, activities, and habits into your daily life. According to an article published in 2015 in The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, boundary-setting is a main task of the growth phase of recovery.
The journal says that the growth stage “is about developing skills that individuals may have never learned and that predisposed them to addiction.” Setting stronger boundaries teaches you how to say “No” to harmful substances, activities, and even people who don’t have your best interests at heart.
Avoiding Setbacks and Relapse
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine also mentions that not setting healthy boundaries could be a reason for setbacks in your recovery journey. A lack of boundaries, according to the journal, may include “not asking for help, not avoiding high-risk situations, and not practicing self-care.”
A setback, however, doesn’t always mean relapse. Even if it does, it’s important to remember that this is just a natural part of the recovery process.
Having a game plan during the holidays that includes setting boundaries and avoiding high-risk situations can help you avoid setbacks and protect your sobriety.
The Impact of Holiday Stress
Holiday stress can be especially hard to deal with if you struggle with mental health issues. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) explains that holiday stress can “worsen symptoms of a mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety, or a substance use disorder.”
SAMHSA even referenced a survey conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), which found that “64% of individuals living with a mental illness reported that their conditions worsened around the holidays.”
Of course, the holiday season can bring added stress upon just about anyone, whether they have been diagnosed with a mental health condition or not. This is why learning how to set boundaries during this time is so important.
Setting Boundaries During the Holidays: Tips and Ideas
Learning how to set boundaries isn’t just for protecting your sobriety and your health. Boundaries can also help you gain feelings of confidence and move through recovery in a much more empowered way.
Define Your Boundaries
A good place to start is to spend time with yourself and define what setting boundaries during the holidays means to you. For example, if you know that spending time with family may make you feel more stressed, it could be a good idea to limit this time.
You can also create different plans of your own that include spending time with people who make you feel happy and peaceful and who have your best interests at heart.
While you’re in recovery, it’s also incredibly important to stay away from anything that may trigger you. For example, you may want to set a boundary against attending parties where substances like alcohol are served. Making empowering decisions like this will help you rediscover your own sense of worth. This, in turn, will help you stick to your long-term goals in recovery.
Create New Routines
Added stress during the holiday season is a huge reason people turn to substances as a way to self-medicate and cope. Make a list of stress-free activities you can participate in. You may want to explore yoga or meditation classes or group therapy options.
A new exercise routine is another great idea. Exercising can boost your endorphins, which will make you feel more confident, happy, and peaceful each day.
Healing During the Holidays at The Guest House
At The Guest House, we understand that the holidays can be a difficult time for anyone, especially when you’re in recovery. This is why we have designed our program to include a multi-faceted approach that offers strong support as you work toward your long-term goals.
Here, we offer traditional talk therapies that will help you process difficult thoughts, emotions, and stressors during the holidays. Our cutting-edge program also includes a full lineup of holistic modalities like meditation, yoga, cinema therapy, and much more. You can discover exciting new hobbies and activities while you learn how to set strong boundaries and lead a healthier, more empowered life.
The holiday season is often filled with stressors and triggers that can make it extra difficult to cope for those in recovery. Setting boundaries is one of the most important habits you can learn as you journey through recovery during the holiday season and beyond. At The Guest House, we understand how difficult the holiday season can be. Here, you will find the support and structure you need to begin setting healthy boundaries. You can also create healthy new habits and routines that help you reach your recovery goals. We offer a cutting-edge blend of traditional and holistic therapies that allow you to discover an exciting new way of life. Call us at (855) 483-7800.