Holidays During the Pandemic
This holiday season is unlike any other we have ever experienced. How do we safely celebrate the holidays during a pandemic? How do we safely celebrate the holidays during a pandemic and maintain our recovery? The holiday season typically brings the hustle and bustle of shopping, celebrations, parties, travel, and get-togethers with relatives. This year will be vastly different for all of us. First and mostly because we are in recovery. Second, because we have all been impacted by Covid in our daily lives and may, out of an abundance of caution, be away from our loved ones, avoiding travel, and get-togethers. This necessary precaution can lead to feelings of anxiety and isolation, challenging triggers for all of us!
However, this season does not have to be a time filled with unhelpful thinking and actions. This season can be an opportunity to live your recovery to the fullest and practice the tools that you have already invested so much in and have served you so well!
I am so grateful for all those who have shown me the way to recovery. Those that dared to be courageous, picked themselves up, and committed and recommitted to recovery. They did so by focusing on the basics, reinforcing the foundational tools of early recovery. Whenever we are challenged by illness, loneliness, or confusion, all we need do is come back to the basics, they will never fail you. The world today is so extremely complicated, the road to healing is not. Here are a few suggestions to stay on the path from some of the recovery experts in my life.
- One Day at a Time – and if necessary, one minute at a time.
- Keep it simple – stay present and practice what you know keeps you well
- Keep it structured – stick with your recovery routine: coaching, meetings, exercise, prayer, meditation
- Stay connected – Call, Facetime, Zoom, Skype – safely fellowship several times every day
- Laugh out loud – remind yourself multiple times a day to smile.
- Be of service – inside and outside of your recovery community – acts of kindness always draw us up and make us feel better
- Practice self-compassion – include yourself in the circle of kindness
- Practice gratitude – this quality can change the lens through which you see everything
- And most importantly….Never, ever, ever give up!
May you and yours be blessed with a safety, serenity, and health this Thanksgiving.
With gratitude,
Cini