Seven benefits of being in recovery during the holidays
- addictionfrontline
- Dec 19, 2014
- 2 min read
Recovery offers several advantages during the holiday season. For starters, a person in recovery will not need to worry about waking up with a hangover after an acrobatic night with the boss’ wife.
Enjoy the feeling of being in control. Sit back. Watch the mayhem.
1. DUI
No need to fret over DUI checkpoints. Feel free to drive up. You can honestly answer “no” when the officer asks “Have you been drinking?”
2. Driving in bad weather
A sober driver in the snow beats a buzzed driver on a clear day. In a sober mind, you are well prepared for sudden weather changes. Your insurance company will love you, and you will love your rates.
3. Weight gain
Without all the eggnog and bottles of wine, you can dodge the annual holiday pounds. Furthermore, you won’t need to snack on bread to soak up the alcohol in your stomach. Enjoy watching everyone else feel bloated and insecure.
4. Holiday expenses
In 2012, liquor stores earned more than $44 million in holiday season revenues, according to DataHero.
Think about how much you spent on booze during the last holiday season you drank. Multiply that figure by three. You probably have enough for a vacation. With a trim body and better budgeting, you can afford a vacation away from the January blizzards.
5. Holiday dinner table confessions
Save the Usher lyrics. This year, your sober brain will help you to avoid airing out your dirty laundry during holiday ham. Be prepared for other family members to make drunken confessions about sleeping with Aunt Stacy, experimenting in college (outside of drugs), unplanned pregnancies, abortions, adoptions and unknown paternities.
Warning: Be prepared to hear disturbing facts about your own childhood.
6. Holiday work parties
Social experiments in the work environment spread holiday cheer to recovery members far and wide. Professional reputations plummet after too many shots of whiskey. Remember taking advantage of all those drunken girls in college? If you truly want that raise, now is the time to begin negotiations.
If you feel the need to stir the pot, wait until the party’s judgment level drops to around a two or three, and then get your coworkers to play spin-the-bottle.
7. Buyer’s remorse
Say goodbye to all those liquored up hours of online binge shopping. You won’t have to ask yourself why you ordered a Sponge Bob lava lamp for your teenage niece. Rather than retrace your blackout thoughts and argue with Visa, you can use clear judgment to buy the appropriate gifts people will love.
If you are in recovery, get ready for the best Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa ever - you won’t mix up any of those three celebrations this season. No knocking over the menorah or stumbling topless into midnight mass this year. Simply, enjoy the season. You’re alive, and that’s worth celebrating.
Remember: peace on earth starts with your own inner peace.
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