It seems like I’m more sensitive to sadness, happiness, loneliness and joy this time of the year. MOST ALCOHOLICS love excitement. After we get sober in AA, we learn to make our lives adventurous. Boredom is one of the reasons an alcoholic housewife drinks.
ways to have a sober holiday
Loneliness and shame hung heavy on my shoulders that December. When I think back on my drinking days, the holidays were chaos — bright lights masking dark feelings. Sobriety didn’t just give me the ability to survive the holidays; it gave me the awareness to appreciate what comes after them. The quiet is no longer punishment; it’s an invitation. A pause before the next chapter. In October 1987 I was 23 years old, unemployed and suffering from pancreatitis and I had just wrecked another car.
- I just know that I’m glad I didn’t have to.
- It was 1984 and Christmas was approaching.
- If you are struggling this holiday season, please do not give up before the miracle happens.
One Swing at a Time
The coffee was terrible, and the laughter felt foreign, but something kept me coming back. I don’t know why I believed him, but I did. I forced myself to talk to a few more people. I stuck around for a few of the late-night marathon AA meetings and then went home and fell asleep sober for the first Christmas Eve in a very, very long time. Still, I don’t romanticize the silence. Because I know how my mind works when the noise fades.
Spotlight On Sobriety 11/23/2025
One day at a time still works just as well in January as it did in December. There’s no rule that says I have to shut down the night. I make sober holidays plans that include an “important date” with my pillow. Keep your AA phone list close.
The writer of “Mom’s Holiday Gift” was tempted after being offered a glass of sparkling wine one Christmas season. She had two years sober, and luckily she knew to think the drink through. That glass could have ruined her holidays. I sobered up in January of 1977. Since that time, I have lived in five states and two countries. I’ve always been involved in AA and https://freightpaytracker.com/what-is-the-oxford-house-model-peer-supported-3/ with the Fellowship, and I’ve had the great pleasure of getting to know some outstanding people in our program.
- I was just seven months sober, but facing what I thought was going to be an insurmountable obstacle.
- Being in the house with all my relatives all day without a buzz?
- I stuck around for a few of the late-night marathon AA meetings and then went home and fell asleep sober for the first Christmas Eve in a very, very long time.
This might be the Alcoholics Anonymous most powerful one. When I reach out to help another alcoholic, my own silence breaks. Service turns the volume down on loneliness. Don’t get worked up about temptations.