How to Enjoy a Sober New Year’s Eve

It’s that time of year for getting together with friends and loved ones – and, far too often, these gatherings include a focus on alcohol or drugs. For people who are living in recovery after drug or alcohol addiction, maintaining recovery during the holiday season can seem especially challenging or complicated. One milestone to get through is to successfully celebrate a sober New Year’s Eve while staying true to your personal commitment to sobriety. Your better health and future shouldn’t be jeopardized by this time of year, and that’s why planning ahead and considering potential triggers is crucial as the holidays approach.

At Resurgence Behavioral Health’s addiction treatment facility in Riverside, California, our team of experts understands that the holiday season can be a uniquely difficult time of year. Getting together with loved ones and old friends can present strong triggers and cravings to return to a past life of substance use, especially when drinking and partying seem to be at the center of this particular holiday. Let’s explore other ideas to mark the holiday without jeopardizing your well-deserved recovery after addiction and how to avoid the triggers and cravings that can come up as we all get ready to mark the dawn of the New Year.

What Do Sober People Do on New Year’s Eve?

Sober holiday activities can still be fun – and they won’t put your recovery in danger. If you’re wondering what you can do to celebrate a sober New Year’s Eve in a safe, healthy, and productive manner, many ideas can inspire you to devise a fun plan.

The website Sober Bliss suggests the answer can be as simple as focusing on the food. Arrange a small get-together of close friends or family members and make a big dinner night out of the gathering, giving people something to look forward to that won’t involve cracking open Champagne bottles. Or, make a reservation at a nice restaurant and let someone else do the cooking.

You could also spend the evening focusing on the future by thinking through your dreams and goals for the New Year, putting together a vision board or dream jar to get your hopes into writing. This can help you look ahead rather than struggle in the present situation. Similarly, if New Year’s Eve is too difficult to embrace, make fun plans to celebrate the start of the New Year the following day, such as arranging to go for a nice hike or spending time on the beach on January 1. If it feels too hard to go to a party or gathering on New Year’s Eve, remember that you’re under no obligation to go – take care of yourself, and if you feel like the party will be too challenging or triggering, skip it and stay in instead. Your recovery is worth this effort throughout the year, including during a holiday like New Year’s Eve.

What Are the Four Most Powerful Triggers of Cravings?

Many things could trigger cravings to use alcohol or drugs, no matter how long you’ve successfully lived in recovery. Often, these triggers come down to powerful emotional situations or feelings that can make someone remember how they used to feel and respond to things in the past. Anger, isolation, anxiety, and stress are frequent triggers for many, and that’s why it’s so important to develop healthier coping mechanisms and build a strong support system of friends, family members, or professionals who can help you get through a craving without relapsing.

Social situations are another common trigger, such as being at a party or gathering where alcohol or drugs are being consumed. Going to a bar can be challenging for anyone who has struggled with alcohol addiction in the past, for example. A related trigger is patterns, like the pressure to get together with co-workers for a Friday evening happy hour to mark the end of the workweek or being at a holiday party where, in past years, you would’ve indulged in drinking or drug use as part of the festivities. A fourth trigger is related to withdrawal. Items that are strongly tied to past use of alcohol or drugs, like a martini glass in the cupboard or a spoon that reminds someone of preparing heroin in the past, can trigger powerful cravings and bring up old memories. The important thing to remember is that these cravings will pass, even if they’re not indulged, and that’s why it’s essential to have strong coping skills and a good support network to lean on when you’re feeling particularly tempted or at risk of relapsing.

What Triggers the Cravings?

Many things can trigger cravings for people in recovery. A 2022 review and meta-analysis looked into the question of how drug cues and cravings might be associated with drug use, looking into results from 237 prior studies that involved more than 50,000 participants. The results were clear: There was a “significant” association between drug cues or craving and using drugs or relapsing later. The review said the results make it clear that things that can bring up drug cues or cravings have a significant impact on the outcome of people in terms of relapse or future drug use, which is why craving assessment was recommended to be a component of focus in addiction treatment programs.

What Is an Intense Craving for a Drug?

As the name implies, an intense craving for a drug is a strong feeling of desire to take the drug again – and this can come up for people even years or decades into a successful recovery after addiction. Addiction is a chronic condition, meaning it can be treated but not cured, and that’s why cravings are a risk for everyone in this situation. A 2013 article published in the Iranian Journal of Psychiatry looked into how cravings were described by people who were dependent on opiates, finding that descriptions include things like “profound desire” and “intensely wanting.” Words like “love,” “like,” “adore,” and “urge” are also frequently used to describe these feelings when it comes to cravings. The study looked into how craving terms could be discussed as cognitive processes, separating such things into categories like attention bias, stimulation and triggering, mental urges, withdrawal symptoms, and difficulty processing information or making decisions.

Enjoy a Sober New Year’s Eve with Help from Resurgence

Getting through a sober New Year’s Eve can seem like a difficult proposition at first, but it’s important to remember that you or your loved one who is living in recovery don’t have to do it alone. This time of year, it’s essential to reach out to others who can offer a supportive, empathetic ear while helping you get through cravings and avoid the temptation to relapse. That’s why support and learning healthier coping skills is a major component of addiction treatment at top drug and alcohol rehabs like Resurgence Behavioral Health. Our comprehensive addiction treatment programs include ongoing support and aftercare addiction services that will be there to help long after your time in rehab is completed. Don’t go it alone – reach out for help and make sure you’re ready for a healthy, joyful start to your New Year in recovery. Call us at 855-458-0050 to learn more about how we can help.

External Sources

• Sober Bliss – How to Celebrate New Year’s Eve When You’re Sober
• National Library of Medicine – Association of Drug Cues and Craving with Drug Use and Relapse
• National Library of Medicine – Drug Craving Terminology Among Opiate Dependents; A Mixed Method Study

David Rofofsky
After growing up in New York, David chose to get help with substance abuse in California because of the state's reputation for top-tier treatment. There, he found the treatment he needed to achieve more than nine years of recovery. He's been in the drug and alcohol addiction rehab industry for eight years and now serves as the Director of Admissions for Resurgence Behavioral Health. David remains passionate about the field because he understands how hard it is to pick up the phone and ask for help. However, once the call is made, someone's life can be saved.

Research | Editorial