Do the Holidays Trigger You? Here's Where to Find a Meeting

We all like to think the holidays are merry, but for many people, it's a stressful time to survive rather than enjoy. It's tough enough trying to stretch a paycheck to cover the rent, the bills, and have enough left over for groceries, let alone having to find some way to buy gifts. It's a time of year when creditors are after folks for skipping payments in favor of traveling home for Christmas. For the service industry and retail workers, this is the busiest time of year and they put up with a LOT of b.s. It's also a celebratory time when, according to one of our recent articles, Montanans drink 30% of their overall intake for the year. Any of these things, or a combination of all of them, can tempt even the strongest person in recovery to relapse.

Don't keep it to yourself.

If you're feeling like you are feeling depressed, sad, like you have lost hope, please reach out to somebody you trust. If you don't have a person like that, call the suicide hotline, where a real person will answer 24/7, even if you just want to text with them. 1-800-273-8255, or text "MT" to 741 741.

If you've been sober for a while and feel that you've reached the point where you can handle a few drinks or a night of using to celebrate the holidays, you can't. Don't even go there. Call your sponsor, call someone you wish was your sponsor, GO TO A MEETING. Missoula has so many different meetings at all hours of the day. There are meetings for men, women, non-binary, LGBTQ+, motorcycle riders, smokers, non-smokers, single parents, single people, there's got to be one that is right for you.

Don't mess up all you've accomplished because you think it's OK to use during the holidays, you've come so far, you're amazing!

Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash