Selected Podcast
Maintaining or Supporting Sobriety During the Holidays
Dr. Joseph Vittorio shares tips for maintaining or supporting sobriety during the holidays.
Featured Speaker:
Joseph Vittorio, MD
Joseph A. Vittorio, M.D. is an Associate Physician at The Recovery Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. He is board-certified in Family Medicine, certified in Buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence and has extensive experience in addiction medicine. Transcription:
Maintaining or Supporting Sobriety During the Holidays
Prakash Chandran (Host): The holiday season can be an especially difficult time for people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. More than any other time of the year, the holidays are filled with temptations. So, what can those with addictions do to prepare for the upcoming season and how can friends and family be supportive? We’re going to talk about it today with Dr. Joseph Vittorio, the Medical Director of the Recovery Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
This is Health Tack, the podcast from Montefiore Nyack Hospital. I’m Prakash Chandran. So, first of all Dr. Vittorio, tell us why the fall and winter holiday season is especially challenging for people in recovery.
Joseph Vittorio, MD (Guest): Many holiday parties are centered around drinking, even family parties. And secondly, the stress just induced by the holiday season including travel and negotiating relationships can be a trigger for a relapse with alcohol or drugs.
Host: Yeah, so just by the very fact that it is everywhere around them, everyone is talking about it, everyone is drinking; that is a serios trigger for those in recovery. Am I correct in saying that?
Dr. Vittorio: Yes. Definitely.
Host: Okay, so what should someone do in recovery ahead of time just to be mindful about the scenarios, the situations and the parties that they might want to attend?
Dr. Vittorio: Well, first they need to choose their parties carefully. In early sobriety, or recovery, the first year or two, they should really avoid any holiday parties where alcohol will definitely be served. After that period, they have to have a good strategy in place for attending parties that have alcohol. Go to an AA meeting before or set up a meeting with your counselor or sponsor either before or afterwards. And have an exit strategy. You don’t have to stay for the entire gathering. You can make an appearance, stay for a little while and leave. The other things that I recommend is involve family and friends and let them know ahead of time that having alcohol around is going to be a trigger, suggest some other ritual that doesn’t involve alcohol like special food or something like that. Symbolic toast using something different. And then keep busy. Maybe give yourself a task as far as the cooking, the serving, the cleaning up so you are not just sitting around looking at alcohol.
Host: Yeah, I had a couple friends in recovery, and I’ve had social events before and I always ask them ahead of time, how are you going to feel if there’s alcohol served, and they always tell me it’s no problem at all. I have my systems in place to deal with it. But I wonder if that’s actually true. And I’m kind of curious as to your advice for someone like me who wants to be supportive to them. Are they telling me the truth? Or should I not serve alcohol at all and just try to have a party that way? Tell me a little bit about your thoughts.
Dr. Vittorio: It depends on the person you are dealing with and if they are within the first year or two of having an issue; then you’re best to avoid alcohol at all, no matter what they say. That’s called early sobriety or early recovery. You don’t really want to tempt them. Because they may say one thing but then when it’s in their face, the impulses and urges can take over and things can change in a minute. Once somebody has been in sobriety for years; then you can trust them and kind of modify the atmosphere. You don’t want to have alcohol as the main source of entertainment. You want to make sure you emphasize other things; food, music, social games, whatever, dancing so alcohol is not the main thing.
Host: Okay, that makes a lot of sense. But I am actually curious about nonalcoholic alternatives like they have nonalcoholic wines and beers. What do you think about those?
Dr. Vittorio: I actually advise against nonalcoholic drinks like the nonalcoholic beer and champagne because it kind of reinforces the old trigger. Instead I recommend using like a symbolic food of something totally different.
Host: Okay, I’m really glad that you specified that. So, you used the word trigger a couple of times and I know that you mentioned there could be travel, there could be family tensions and obviously even nonalcoholic beverages could be a trigger; but what are some other things that a person in recovery might find difficult to deal with?
Dr. Vittorio: You know just the stress. Stresses of shopping, family tension and conflicts that have not been dealt with over the past year or whatever and now you have to see that person again. People tend to drink more when they are anxious so just the anxiety of maybe seeing a family member that you have a little issue with definitely is a big trigger or urge to drink.
Host: Okay, so what I’m hearing from you is that any situation that provides additional stress on top of what you may already be going through as you are going through recovery; is something to stay away from and be avoided because there are so many different things that can actually trigger you to potentially use again. Am I correct in saying that?
Dr. Vittorio: Correct. And especially if you consider that you’re in an environment or a party, somebody’s house where there’s alcohol sitting right there on the counter. Then it’s just the stress combined with the temptation of it being right in arm’s reach is just too much.
Host: When we talk about sobriety, we’re talking a lot about alcohol but there are other substances to be addicted to. What recommendations might you have for people that are recovering from other substances and situations to potentially avoid during the holiday season?
Dr. Vittorio: Well in that situation, the stress and the anxiety is the same as far as the triggering of somebody to relapse. But it’s not exposed or out in the open and that’s something that person would try to hide in a party setting unless they bump into old friends which is another situation that can arise over the holidays. You’re back home, you are back in your hometown and you get back together with old people that you used to use drugs with.
Host: Yeah, so what I’m really hearing from you is that anything can be a trigger. Obviously, having that substance or that alcohol in front of you is a trigger but also just being around people that you used to party with, any sort of stressful family situation and just focusing in on travel a little bit; I’m imaging that you are in a routine of recovery and when you travel, you naturally break yourself out of that routine which makes it very, very difficult to stay consistent with what you’ve been doing in recovery. Have I correctly assessed that?
Dr. Vittorio: Exactly. And people who are travelling like out of state are travelling away from their support system, their sponsors, their AA meetings as well as their routine.
Host: Got it. So, just as we wrap up here, is there any other words of advice that you might want to share with someone listening that either is going through recovery or is a family member that is supportive to that person in recovery?
Dr. Vittorio: I would just say be an example. Everybody can benefit from showing some restraint when it comes to drinking at the holidays. Think about it in that way that if you can demonstrate that you can have a good time without drinking; then you are setting a good example for friends, family and coworkers and they’ll kind of follow your lead.
Host: Well thank you so much for your time today Dr. Vittorio. That’s Dr. Joseph Vittorio, the Medical Director of the Recovery Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. Thanks for checking out this episode of Health Track. The Recovery Center at Montefiore Nyack offers help and hope to those struggling with addiction. We provide a full range of treatment options in a culturally sensitive and judgment free environment to assist individuals on their road to recovery. For more information on outpatients services, call 845-348-2075 or you can go to www.montefiorenyack.org and search recovery. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks and we’ll talk next time.
Maintaining or Supporting Sobriety During the Holidays
Prakash Chandran (Host): The holiday season can be an especially difficult time for people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. More than any other time of the year, the holidays are filled with temptations. So, what can those with addictions do to prepare for the upcoming season and how can friends and family be supportive? We’re going to talk about it today with Dr. Joseph Vittorio, the Medical Director of the Recovery Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
This is Health Tack, the podcast from Montefiore Nyack Hospital. I’m Prakash Chandran. So, first of all Dr. Vittorio, tell us why the fall and winter holiday season is especially challenging for people in recovery.
Joseph Vittorio, MD (Guest): Many holiday parties are centered around drinking, even family parties. And secondly, the stress just induced by the holiday season including travel and negotiating relationships can be a trigger for a relapse with alcohol or drugs.
Host: Yeah, so just by the very fact that it is everywhere around them, everyone is talking about it, everyone is drinking; that is a serios trigger for those in recovery. Am I correct in saying that?
Dr. Vittorio: Yes. Definitely.
Host: Okay, so what should someone do in recovery ahead of time just to be mindful about the scenarios, the situations and the parties that they might want to attend?
Dr. Vittorio: Well, first they need to choose their parties carefully. In early sobriety, or recovery, the first year or two, they should really avoid any holiday parties where alcohol will definitely be served. After that period, they have to have a good strategy in place for attending parties that have alcohol. Go to an AA meeting before or set up a meeting with your counselor or sponsor either before or afterwards. And have an exit strategy. You don’t have to stay for the entire gathering. You can make an appearance, stay for a little while and leave. The other things that I recommend is involve family and friends and let them know ahead of time that having alcohol around is going to be a trigger, suggest some other ritual that doesn’t involve alcohol like special food or something like that. Symbolic toast using something different. And then keep busy. Maybe give yourself a task as far as the cooking, the serving, the cleaning up so you are not just sitting around looking at alcohol.
Host: Yeah, I had a couple friends in recovery, and I’ve had social events before and I always ask them ahead of time, how are you going to feel if there’s alcohol served, and they always tell me it’s no problem at all. I have my systems in place to deal with it. But I wonder if that’s actually true. And I’m kind of curious as to your advice for someone like me who wants to be supportive to them. Are they telling me the truth? Or should I not serve alcohol at all and just try to have a party that way? Tell me a little bit about your thoughts.
Dr. Vittorio: It depends on the person you are dealing with and if they are within the first year or two of having an issue; then you’re best to avoid alcohol at all, no matter what they say. That’s called early sobriety or early recovery. You don’t really want to tempt them. Because they may say one thing but then when it’s in their face, the impulses and urges can take over and things can change in a minute. Once somebody has been in sobriety for years; then you can trust them and kind of modify the atmosphere. You don’t want to have alcohol as the main source of entertainment. You want to make sure you emphasize other things; food, music, social games, whatever, dancing so alcohol is not the main thing.
Host: Okay, that makes a lot of sense. But I am actually curious about nonalcoholic alternatives like they have nonalcoholic wines and beers. What do you think about those?
Dr. Vittorio: I actually advise against nonalcoholic drinks like the nonalcoholic beer and champagne because it kind of reinforces the old trigger. Instead I recommend using like a symbolic food of something totally different.
Host: Okay, I’m really glad that you specified that. So, you used the word trigger a couple of times and I know that you mentioned there could be travel, there could be family tensions and obviously even nonalcoholic beverages could be a trigger; but what are some other things that a person in recovery might find difficult to deal with?
Dr. Vittorio: You know just the stress. Stresses of shopping, family tension and conflicts that have not been dealt with over the past year or whatever and now you have to see that person again. People tend to drink more when they are anxious so just the anxiety of maybe seeing a family member that you have a little issue with definitely is a big trigger or urge to drink.
Host: Okay, so what I’m hearing from you is that any situation that provides additional stress on top of what you may already be going through as you are going through recovery; is something to stay away from and be avoided because there are so many different things that can actually trigger you to potentially use again. Am I correct in saying that?
Dr. Vittorio: Correct. And especially if you consider that you’re in an environment or a party, somebody’s house where there’s alcohol sitting right there on the counter. Then it’s just the stress combined with the temptation of it being right in arm’s reach is just too much.
Host: When we talk about sobriety, we’re talking a lot about alcohol but there are other substances to be addicted to. What recommendations might you have for people that are recovering from other substances and situations to potentially avoid during the holiday season?
Dr. Vittorio: Well in that situation, the stress and the anxiety is the same as far as the triggering of somebody to relapse. But it’s not exposed or out in the open and that’s something that person would try to hide in a party setting unless they bump into old friends which is another situation that can arise over the holidays. You’re back home, you are back in your hometown and you get back together with old people that you used to use drugs with.
Host: Yeah, so what I’m really hearing from you is that anything can be a trigger. Obviously, having that substance or that alcohol in front of you is a trigger but also just being around people that you used to party with, any sort of stressful family situation and just focusing in on travel a little bit; I’m imaging that you are in a routine of recovery and when you travel, you naturally break yourself out of that routine which makes it very, very difficult to stay consistent with what you’ve been doing in recovery. Have I correctly assessed that?
Dr. Vittorio: Exactly. And people who are travelling like out of state are travelling away from their support system, their sponsors, their AA meetings as well as their routine.
Host: Got it. So, just as we wrap up here, is there any other words of advice that you might want to share with someone listening that either is going through recovery or is a family member that is supportive to that person in recovery?
Dr. Vittorio: I would just say be an example. Everybody can benefit from showing some restraint when it comes to drinking at the holidays. Think about it in that way that if you can demonstrate that you can have a good time without drinking; then you are setting a good example for friends, family and coworkers and they’ll kind of follow your lead.
Host: Well thank you so much for your time today Dr. Vittorio. That’s Dr. Joseph Vittorio, the Medical Director of the Recovery Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. Thanks for checking out this episode of Health Track. The Recovery Center at Montefiore Nyack offers help and hope to those struggling with addiction. We provide a full range of treatment options in a culturally sensitive and judgment free environment to assist individuals on their road to recovery. For more information on outpatients services, call 845-348-2075 or you can go to www.montefiorenyack.org and search recovery. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks and we’ll talk next time.