Valentine’s Day can trigger the hopeless, lonely feeling that drives addicts to use drugs and alcohol. This time of year, can be emotionally jarring for many of us. If you are an addict in recovery, it’s important to take steps to protect yourself from slipping. Many addicts fear loneliness and rejection because we have experienced so much abandonment by people in the past. Whether our own actions pushed people away or not, Valentine’s Day can be a keen reminder that our addiction is a lonely place to be. Let’s talk about a few ways we can keep resisting those triggers, even when the annual celebration of romance has us feeling lost and low.
The Psychology of Valentine’s Day as a Trigger for Addiction
There is a reason why psychologists often say that newly recovered addicts shouldn’t date for a while. Every situation is different, and some of you may have done the work already in rehab with your spouse. However, for the single person in recovery, Valentine’s Day is the one day of the year when you feel that you are supposed to have a date. You are supposed to go out and celebrate love. When you don’t have this, it can be a harrowing, lonely experience.Valentine's Date Ideas that Avoid Alcohol and Drugs
When you do have this, you should consider dating ideas that avoid alcohol or drugs. Go out and do something fun together. Avoid restaurants and dates in bars. Check out experiences days on Red Letter or Buy a Gift instead. Go for high tea, go on a llama trek, or throw yourself out of a plane in a tandem bungee jump. All these things are memorable for the right reasons, instead of the wrong reasons.What if you have no date?
Recovering addicts may feel intense pressure at this time of year because society expects us to be partnered up. Not all of us are, and that’s just fine. As we all know, loneliness is a recognised trigger for mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Not only does it trigger these negative emotions, but those negative emotions in turn bring on the risk of relapse. For that reason, we researched some of the best things you can do to avoid those feelings of loneliness this Valentine’s Day.Enjoying Valentine’s Day Alone as a Recovering Addict
We want to go further than staving off the blues that might trigger us. We want to turn this day of the year from something dreaded into something fun. If you simply want to get through the day, or if you are low on funds, then try the following things:- Keep busy. Do your household chores or offer to do things for friends
- Do your weeks’ meal prep.
- Go pick up a nice meal for yourself at the supermarket.
- Plan an exercise class or visit the gym.
