Relapse fears

The holidays can be a stressful time for everyone — making sure the shopping lists are checked off, traveling, budgeting, time management. But, for people recovering from addiction, the holiday season can be especially difficult.

Karen Chacon, an instructor for drug and alcohol prevention classes at the High Desert Child Adolescent and Family Services Center, said that many people relapse around this time of year.

“When I was out there drinking, I just hated the holidays. But after a few drinks, all the guilt would set in,” said the manager of the central office for Victor Valley Cities Alcoholics Anonymous, who, due to an anonymity clause in A.A., chose not to give his name.

For many recovering alcoholics, it is hard to balance avoiding places where alcohol is served and spending time with family and friends.

Noon on Christmas Eve marks the beginning of the marathon meeting period for the local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous, when there will be three local meetings that run continuously from Christmas Eve through Christmas, pausing only for half hour breaks.

In the Victor Valley, there are normally 166 meetings each week, according to the local manager.The manager of the central office for Victor Valley Cities Alcoholics Anonymous has been sober for 18 years, but still clearly remembers how he handled holiday stress during his drinking days.

He would avoid holiday parties to sit at home and drink, sometimes with a drinking buddy, to forget his problems.

When he was newly sober, he said he avoided places where alcohol was served.

“It was a good excuse to drink earlier in the day time, and to have a few more drinks.”

A local woman and member of Alcoholics Anonymous in Apple Valley has been sober for 17 years. She describes the pressure around holidays, including Christmas and the 4th of July, as a major obstacle in her recovery.

“The hardest part when I was getting sober, and for all of the new people, is the pressure from families — this feeling that we have to be with the family to celebrate Christmas,” she said. “Those people drink, and they start making fun of us because we don’t, and then we get drunk.”

Chacon said that one factor for the increased relapse rate is that people tend to travel and may not attend their usual meetings or support groups.

But, one of the perks of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Apple Valley A.A. member said. is that she can attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings wherever she travels to, and can always take advantage of an environment where there is not the pressure to drink.

Victorville Daily Press