Navigating the Holiday Season in Recovery: Compassionate Tips for Wellbeing, Recovery, and Connection

Integrated Wellbeing Consulting, 2025

The holiday season can bring a mix of warmth, joy, nostalgia, and sometimes grief and stress. For many individuals, especially those navigating mental health challenges or recovery, holidays can feel complicated. There may be family dynamics, grief, expectations, social pressure, disrupted routines, and an abundance of free time during school breaks.

If this season feels a little heavy or overwhelming, you’re not alone. There are ways to honor your wellbeing, protect your peace, and move through the holidays with intention, compassion, and support.

Below you’ll find tips, tools, and resources to help you navigate the holiday season and the upcoming winter break with steadiness, confidence, and grace.

1. Give Yourself Permission to Feel What You Feel

The holidays often come with unspoken expectations of joy and togetherness. But your emotional experience is valid and real, no matter what it looks like.

Maybe this season feels:

Grief-filled
Stressful
Tender
Joyous
Complicated
Hopeful
Messy
All of the above

Whatever shows up, it deserves compassion instead of judgment.

Try This: Name what you’re feeling, even if it’s multiple things at once. Naming emotions lowers their intensity and gives you clarity and awareness on what you need.

2. Create a Plan That Supports Your Recovery

Holidays and breaks interrupt routine, which for many in recovery is a core part of stability. Protecting your wellbeing during this time is an act of strength and self-love.

Ways to Support Your Recovery Plan:

Identify your anchors: meetings, coaching sessions, movement, journaling, spiritual practices, therapy, or recovery check-ins.
Know your activation points, or those situations that heighten an emotional response, and have coping tools ready to go.
Bring your own supportive items: alcohol-free beverages, calming tools, snacks, relaxing activities, and those important boundaries.
Decide ahead of time what events you will participate in and for how long.
Have an “exit strategy” if you start to feel overwhelmed or like your wellbeing or recovery is at risk. Prioritizing yourself and your needs is an act of self-love and an important part of recovery maintenance.

If traveling:

Look up local meetings (ex: Meeting Guide app) or virtual peer support options beforehand.
Pack comfort items that help regulate your emotions.
Maintain eating, resting, and hydration routines as best you can.

3. Navigating School Breaks While in Recovery

For students in recovery, holiday breaks often bring a sudden shift in environment; from a supportive campus community to home dynamics that can be unpredictable at times.

Tips for Students:

Stay connected to your campus recovery community, advisor, or coach.
Schedule virtual recovery check-ins before and during break.
Tell a trusted person what you may need such as space, quiet time, support, and accountability
Expect that emotions may shift. You’ve grown, but home may not have changed.
Identify safe places you can go if you need time away (library, park, coffee shop).
Bring recovery-friendly activities such as journaling, books, crafts, grounding tools, playlists.

A gentle reminder: It’s okay if your family doesn’t fully understand recovery. Your recovery belongs to you, and you get to shape how you support it.

4. Boundaries Are Not Barriers, They Are Bridges to Wellbeing

Holiday gatherings can bring on unwanted questions, comments, expectations, or pressure. This is where boundaries shine.

Examples of Holiday Boundaries:

“No alcohol for me, thank you.”
“I’m heading out early tonight.”
“I’d rather not talk about that topic.”
“I need a moment to myself. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m not available for that conversation today.”
“I’ll join after my meeting/walk/check-in.”

You don’t need to justify or explain. A boundary is complete even if someone else doesn’t like it.

Try This: Practice your boundary out loud beforehand. It increases confidence and reduces stress in the moment.

5. Grief Is a Quiet Guest at Many Holiday Tables

If you’re missing someone, remembering someone, or grieving a season you thought you’d have, your heart deserves gentleness.

Ways to Honor Grief:

Light a candle
Share memories (or choose not to)
Create a small ritual of remembrance
Allow tears, laughter, or stillness
Reflect on and/or recreate traditions
Give yourself permission to step away

Grief does not mean you are broken. It means you are human.

6. Build Moments of Calm Into a Busy Day

Intentionally create small pauses to help regulate your nervous system.

Try adding:

A breathwork moment before walking into a gathering.
A short walk after a heavy conversation.
Background music that soothes you.
A grounding object in your pocket.
A few minutes of stretching or mindfulness.

Even 30 seconds of slow breathing can change how you experience the rest of the day.

7. Supportive Resources for the Holiday Season

Recovery Support

SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (24/7)
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline call or text 988
Recovery support Groups/Meetings
Local Collegiate Recovery Community Meeting Lists
Recovery IWC Virtual Recovery Toolbox (www.recoveryiwc.org)
IWC Telehealth Coaching (for wraparound support and recovery-friendly planning)

Mental Health & Wellness Resources

NAMI
Mental Health America (MHA)
Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741)

Grief Support

AFSP
“Hope and the Winds of Grief” + Workbook

Tools to Bring Into the Holiday

Breathwork apps (Insight Timer, Calm, Breethe, Balance, Oak)
I Am Sober App
24-Hours App
MySafetyPlan.org (Safety Plan Document)
Fidget tools
Journal prompts
Recovery Journal and Activity Workbook (Amazon)
Noise-reducing earbuds
Prepared scripts for boundaries

8. A Few Holiday Reminders You Deserve to Hear

You are allowed to choose peace over pressure.
Your recovery and wellbeing come first, always.
Rest is productive.
Boundaries are healthy.
You don’t have to participate in every tradition.
You are not responsible for managing others’ emotions.
You can ask for support.
Healing isn’t linear, but you are moving forward.

9. Closing Thoughts: You Are Not Alone This Season

The holidays don’t require perfection, they require presence. If this holiday season brings joy, welcome it. If it brings heaviness, honor it. If it brings both, you’re in good company.

May this season offer you: