{"id":15392,"date":"2017-12-01T01:10:37","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T06:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=16392"},"modified":"2017-11-27T20:19:12","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T01:19:12","slug":"the-sober-pagan-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2017\/12\/01\/the-sober-pagan-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sober Pagan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yuletide Sobriety<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who doesn\u2019t party during the holidays? Scrooge? The Grinch? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But when you\u2019re in recovery, holiday parties \u2013 whether they are office parties at work, family parties around a table groaning with food and drink or coven Yule rituals with \u201ccakes and ale\u201d \u2013 are a challenge, to say the least. What do you do? How do you navigate these chilly, choppy waters?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest with you \u2013 I\u2019ve relapsed over the holidays more than once. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s so easy to see everyone else \u2013 those so-called \u201cnormal\u201d people \u2013 with drinks in their hands \u2013 laughing, happy \u2013 and want what they seemingly have. Yeah! Just one drink. How simple that sounds. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t go there.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like me, it\u2019s never \u201cjust one drink\u201d and it\u2019s never that simple. It\u2019s always a night of drunken manic craziness and a morning of migraine suicidal depression. Even if I\u2019m just mildly hungover, I\u2019m so tired I can\u2019t do a thing. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And then, of course, I have to start all over all again. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t work anymore so office parties are a thing of the past but I still have family. Luckily for me, about half of my family are now in some phase of recovery, so there\u2019s lots of sober support there. I don\u2019t have to go to any party that I don\u2019t want to anymore \u2013 that\u2019s a perk of being old and ornery. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But \u2013 if it\u2019s a case where I <\/span>have <\/i><\/span>to go to a holiday party, here is the list of ideas I\u2019ve compiled to help me get through the ordeal. Some I\u2019ve heard at meetings, some I\u2019ve read in books, and some I\u2019ve gotten off of various websites. They were on a list in my diary. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Arrive late and leave early. Say you have somewhere else to go, if people ask you why you\u2019re leaving. You\u2019re not lying. You\u2019re going home, right?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Bring a sober friend with you. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Bring a bottle of ginger ale or coke or something else non-alcoholic to drink. Ginger ale mixed with cranberry juice is a fabulous holiday drink. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    Remember HALT \u2013 <\/span>H<\/b><\/span>ungry, <\/span>A<\/b><\/span>ngry, <\/span>L<\/b><\/span>onely, <\/span>T<\/b><\/span>ired. Don\u2019t let yourself get out of balance in any of these areas. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    Remember TAMERS \u2013 <\/span>T<\/b><\/span>alk about recovery, <\/span>A<\/b><\/span>ct on recovery, <\/span>M<\/b><\/span>editate & minimize stress, <\/span>E<\/b><\/span>xercise & eat well, <\/span>R<\/b><\/span>elax, <\/span>S<\/b><\/span>leep<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    Be careful what you eat \u2013 lots of cookies, especially, have alcohol in them \u2013 my mother makes a killer fruit cake FILLED with booze! One piece and you\u2019ll be wicked buzzed! So be careful!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n

    Go to meetings! Especially if you\u2019re out of town \u2013 meetings are different in every city, so it\u2019s always cool to check out that aspect of AA. And everyone loves the out-of-towner. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  8. \n

    Get outdoors. No matter what the weather is doing, it\u2019s always good to get outside and walk off whatever emotions you are feeling. Believe me, you are going to feel better! And it\u2019ll work off all those cookies you\u2019re eating! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \n\"\"<\/p>\n

    \n

    So please \u2013 Have the Happiest Yule Ever and a safe and sober New Year! Brightest Blessings!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    Images found on Pinterest with the exception of the picture of the Niagara River Rapids photo \u00a9 polly macdavid<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    ***<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    About the Author:<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Polly MacDavid\u00a0<\/b>lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    She blogs at\u00a0silverapplequeen.wordpress.com<\/a>. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Yuletide Sobriety Who doesn\u2019t party during the holidays? Scrooge? The Grinch? But when you\u2019re in recovery, holiday parties \u2013 whether they are office parties at work, family parties around a table groaning with food and drink or coven Yule rituals with \u201ccakes and ale\u201d \u2013 are a challenge, to say the least. What do you do? How do you navigate these chilly, choppy waters? I\u2019ll be honest with you \u2013 I\u2019ve relapsed over the holidays more than once. It\u2019s so easy to see everyone else \u2013 those so-called \u201cnormal\u201d people \u2013 with drinks in their hands \u2013 laughing, happy \u2013 and want what they seemingly have. Yeah! Just one drink. How simple that sounds. Don\u2019t go there. If you\u2019re like me, it\u2019s never \u201cjust one drink\u201d and it\u2019s never that simple. It\u2019s always a night of drunken manic craziness and a morning of migraine suicidal depression. Even if I\u2019m just mildly hungover, I\u2019m so tired I can\u2019t do a thing. And then, of course, I have to start all over all again. I don\u2019t work anymore so office parties are a thing of the past but I still have family. Luckily for me, about half of my family are now in some phase of recovery, so there\u2019s lots of sober support there. I don\u2019t have to go to any party that I don\u2019t want to anymore \u2013 that\u2019s a perk of being old and ornery. But \u2013 if it\u2019s a case where I have to go to a holiday party, here is the list of ideas I\u2019ve compiled to help me get through the ordeal. Some I\u2019ve heard at meetings, some I\u2019ve read in books, and some I\u2019ve gotten off of various websites. They were on a list in my diary. Arrive late and leave early. Say you have somewhere else to go, if people ask you why you\u2019re leaving. You\u2019re not lying. You\u2019re going home, right? Bring a sober friend with you. Bring a bottle of ginger ale or coke or something else non-alcoholic to drink. Ginger ale mixed with cranberry juice is a fabulous holiday drink. Remember HALT \u2013 Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. Don\u2019t let yourself get out of balance in any of these areas. Remember TAMERS \u2013 Talk about recovery, Act on recovery, Meditate & minimize stress, Exercise & eat well, Relax, Sleep Be careful what you eat \u2013 lots of cookies, especially, have alcohol in them \u2013 my mother makes a killer fruit cake FILLED with booze! One piece and you\u2019ll be wicked buzzed! So be careful! Go to meetings! Especially if you\u2019re out of town \u2013 meetings are different in every city, so it\u2019s always cool to check out that aspect of AA. And everyone loves the out-of-towner. Get outdoors. No matter what the weather is doing, it\u2019s always good to get outside and walk off whatever emotions you are feeling. Believe me, you are going to feel better! And it\u2019ll work off all those cookies you\u2019re eating! So please \u2013 Have the Happiest Yule Ever and a safe and sober New Year! Brightest Blessings! Images found on Pinterest with the exception of the picture of the Niagara River Rapids photo \u00a9 polly macdavid *** About the Author:   Polly MacDavid\u00a0lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic. Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary. She blogs at\u00a0silverapplequeen.wordpress.com. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15392\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}