Tips to Get Through the Holidays – Part Two

13. During the holidays, get out of yourself by giving service, any service, whether it is to the program, to needy individuals, or to the communi13. During the holidays, get out of yourself by giving service, any service, whether it is to the program, to needy individuals, or to the community; Do something that may be a little hard for you, but that you know you will feel good about later. Give yourself something to build self-respect.
14. Plan, plan, plan! Be proactive toward the holidays and the meals. Don’t just sit back and hope for the best. Rehearse in your mind over and over exactly what you will do, particularly what, where and when you will eat. Pray just before sitting down to the meal.
15. Just before sitting down to eat or being served; go to a private room somewhere in the house or restaurant, call your sponsor, and commit what you are about to eat, as well as what you will choose not to eat. It makes no difference whether you get your sponsor or an answering machine – it is your commitment.
16. If you are visiting others for a holiday dinner, it is up to you to know what is being served and whether it is something that you choose not to eat. Call the host ahead of time. Plan accordingly. People understand others’ food limitations. Even people without our disease have foods they don’t eat for one reason or another. Volunteer to bring something that is good for you. The host then thinks you are gracious, while you are taking care of yourself!
17. Remember that you are responsible for what you eat. It’s easy when sitting with family to slip into old childish roles where you feel you must eat whatever you are given. This does not have to be. We are adults and are responsible for our own choices. It is up to us to take care of ourselves. It is up to us to set whatever parameters or boundaries we need to set with our families.
18. Gratitude. There is nothing as good for staying abstinent, particularly during the Thanksgiving season, as focusing on the many things we have, rather than what we do not have. Write gratitude lists frequently.
19. For many of us, the most dangerous period for our abstinence is after we have successfully gone through a difficult occasion. The insanity of our disease subconsciously or consciously tells us to reward ourselves with food because we did so well yesterday. Or we suffer some type of letdown about the occasion because it didn’t meet our expectations. Some of us feel an emptiness after holidays that in the past we have tried to fill with food. For these reasons, plan to go to meetings the next day after the holiday.