Coastwise Health Blog
October 27, 2025
The holidays can be stressful for those in recovery. Learn how to stay grounded, manage triggers, and protect your sobriety during Thanksgiving and beyond. Explore Coastwise Health’s evidence-based programs designed to help you thrive through the season.
The holiday season is often portrayed as a time of joy, connection, and celebration, but for many individuals in recovery, it can also be one of the most challenging times of the year. Thanksgiving in particular can bring emotional, social, and environmental triggers that test your commitment to sobriety.
At Coastwise Health, we understand that maintaining recovery during the holidays takes intention, structure, and support. Whether you’re newly sober or years into recovery, this season can stir up old memories, family tensions, or feelings of loneliness.
The good news? With the right mindset and coping tools, it’s possible not only to stay sober but to find deeper peace, gratitude, and healing during the holidays.
The stress of the holidays affects everyone, but for those in recovery, it can trigger old behaviors or cravings. Here are some common reasons why:
Family gatherings often come with expectations and unresolved dynamics. Old wounds can resurface, leading to stress, anxiety, or feelings of inadequacy. Emotional regulation, one of the pillars of recovery, can be tested more than ever during these times.
Thanksgiving and holiday parties often involve alcohol, and sometimes even drug use. Being surrounded by these substances, or people who normalize them, can be uncomfortable or even dangerous if you’re early in sobriety.
For others, the holidays may bring a sense of emptiness. Being away from family, missing loved ones, or not having a supportive environment can amplify feelings of isolation, one of the leading risk factors for relapse.
Consistency is a cornerstone of sustainable recovery. Travel, late nights, and changing schedules can interrupt healthy habits like therapy sessions, support groups, and sleep routines, all of which are critical to mental wellness and sobriety.
Before stress turns into relapse risk, it’s important to recognize the early signs that your mental health might be suffering.
Common indicators include:
At Coastwise Health, we encourage clients to view these signs as signals for care, not failure. Learning to check in with yourself, and reach out for help early, is one of the strongest acts of self-respect in recovery.
If you’re attending a family gathering, consider talking to your host beforehand about your needs. Bring your own non-alcoholic drinks, plan your exit strategy, and have a support contact ready in case you need to step away.
Thanksgiving’s central theme, gratitude, is also a cornerstone of long-term recovery. Start each day by listing three things you’re grateful for. This simple habit re-centers your focus from what’s missing to what’s meaningful.
Stick to your therapy sessions, meetings, or meditation practices, even if your schedule changes. At Coastwise Health, we offer individual therapy, group therapy, and secure virtual sessions that make it easier to stay connected during travel or holidays.
Explore virtual and in-person therapy at Coastwise Health.
Mindfulness practices like deep breathing, meditation, and grounding exercises can reduce stress and help regulate emotions. Coastwise integrates mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) into several of our therapeutic programs to strengthen this awareness.
Gratitude isn’t just a Thanksgiving theme, it’s a scientifically proven mindset that enhances mental health and reduces relapse risk. Studies show that people who practice gratitude experience:
At Coastwise, gratitude work is woven into our individual therapy, group counseling, and holistic recovery programs. Clients learn how to transform self-criticism into self-compassion and develop daily gratitude rituals that reinforce their progress.
At Coastwise Health, we combine evidence-based talk therapy with holistic healing practices to address the full spectrum of recovery, mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual.
Our care is designed to give you a comprehensive support system, especially during stressful times like the holidays.
Our individual outpatient therapy provides one-on-one talk therapy with a licensed therapist while you continue working, attending school, and managing family obligations. You build accountability, coping skills, and a relapse-prevention plan on a schedule that fits your life. This is one of the best ways to maintain recovery momentum through the holiday season.
Learn more: Substance Use & Recovery at Coastwise
The holidays often bring family tensions to the surface. Coastwise offers family therapy sessions to help rebuild communication, set boundaries, and foster understanding between loved ones.
Our licensed clinicians use modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI) to help clients manage emotions, develop coping strategies, and strengthen resilience.
Healing isn’t just mental, it’s physical and spiritual. Coastwise incorporates:
These modalities help clients stay grounded, centered, and connected during high-stress periods.
Recovery thrives in community. The holidays are an important time to lean into your support network rather than isolate.
Attend virtual or local meetings (AA, NA, SMART Recovery), join a sober holiday event, or reach out to your sponsor. If you’ve been part of group therapy or ongoing sessions at Coastwise, stay active in that circle for mutual encouragement.
It’s okay to say no to events or people that compromise your peace. Recovery boundaries aren’t selfish, they’re self-protective. The team at Coastwise can help you develop and practice these communication strategies during therapy sessions.
Have a few trusted friends, recovery peers, or Coastwise clinicians you can text or call if you feel triggered. Knowing you’re not alone can make all the difference.
The holidays don’t have to be about what you’ve lost, they can be about what you’re building. Thanksgiving can symbolize not just gratitude but rebirth, forgiveness, and personal freedom.
Try reframing the season as:
Coastwise encourages clients to approach the holidays with curiosity and self-compassion, rather than fear or avoidance.
Even with preparation, holiday stress can sometimes lead to emotional overwhelm or relapse warning signs. Seek professional help if you notice:
At Coastwise Health, our clinical team offers individualized therapy and ongoing relapse-prevention planning to help you get back on track quickly and safely.
If you or a loved one are struggling during the holidays, reach out today.
Call us at Coastwise Health or use our secure online form.
Sobriety isn’t about restriction, it’s about freedom. It’s about discovering peace, purpose, and connection that substances could never provide. The holidays, when approached with mindfulness and support, can become some of the most meaningful times in recovery.
Whether you’re celebrating your first sober Thanksgiving or your tenth, remember that you are not alone. The team at Coastwise Health is here to help you navigate every step, with compassion, evidence-based care, and an unwavering commitment to your healing journey.
This Thanksgiving, give yourself the gift of peace, clarity, and community.
Coastwise Health offers individualized treatment programs designed to help you stay strong through life’s challenges, holiday season included.
Contact Coastwise Health Today to speak with our care team and create a plan that supports your continued recovery.
Planning ahead is essential. Bring your own non-alcoholic drinks, have an exit strategy ready, and keep a support contact on hand. If you are in recovery from substance use, consider attending a therapy session or support group meeting before the gathering. Coastwise Health's individual outpatient therapy provides consistent support that continues through the holiday season.
Reach out immediately to a trusted friend, sponsor, or clinician. At Coastwise Health, our team offers individualized therapy to help you navigate high-risk moments. Recognizing warning signs early is a strength, not a failure. Our outpatient therapy for substance use is designed to help you stay on track.
Yes. Our individual outpatient therapy for substance use continues through the holiday season, in person and through secure virtual sessions. We understand that holidays can be a high-risk period for relapse, and maintaining consistent therapeutic contact is critical during these times.
Family therapy can help rebuild communication, set healthy boundaries, and foster mutual understanding. At Coastwise Health, our family support services are designed to address the complex dynamics that often surface during holiday gatherings. Learning to communicate your boundaries clearly is one of the most protective steps you can take.
Yes. Research shows that practicing gratitude reduces stress, improves emotional resilience, and decreases the desire for substances. At Coastwise Health, gratitude work is integrated into our individual therapy, group counseling, and holistic recovery programs to support long-term sobriety.
Substance use at Coastwise is individual therapy, not a program. You work one to one with a clinician who specialises in addiction, for as long as it is useful, and we treat the depression, anxiety or trauma that so often travels with it at the same time.
Addiction, long-term recovery and relapse prevention, grounded in ACT. Over two decades of his own sobriety.
Addiction and recovery alongside the trauma and patterns underneath it. Works from his own long-term recovery.
Tell us what is going on and we will say honestly which clinician fits, or meet the full team.
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