ncc holiday survival guide

Many people experience feelings of stress, discontent, sadness, Novi Community
grief and loneliness around the holidays. We all have our Coalition
challenges and situations we have to deal with. Remember you
are not alone. We are right here with you and will support you in Don’t just survive the
any way we can. We hope this Holiday Survival Guide helped in holidays, THRIVE
some way so you can enjoy the true meaning of the holidays.
Novi Community Coalition
The Novi Community Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit www.novicc.org
organization who strengthens family and youth through [email protected]
community involvement and promotes a healthier community (248) 202-3480
with substance abuse prevention, and mental and physical well-
being. We are working on building a better social and emotional
wellbeing for all how live and work in Novi.

Please reach out to us if you need additional assistance or
resources. Again, remember you are not alone, we can do this
together.

Federal, State, and/or County funding has been provided through the Oakland Community Health
Network/Office of Substance Use Disorders to support the project costs.

We get it!
The h
 olidays can be a weird combination of “It’s the Most
Wonderful Time of the Year!” and “You’re a Mean One,

Mr. Grinch.”
But before your heart becomes two sizes too small Let us
help you with our Holiday Survival Guide. Holiday songs
tell us "It's the happiest time of the year." While we like to
think of this season as a time of joy, festive parties, warm
family gatherings, and optimistic hopes for the new year,
sometimes our idealized expectations are not met and we
end up feeling anxious, let down, disillusioned, alienated,
and/or stretched to emotional limits. Pre-holiday stress.
Mid-holiday frenzy. Post-holiday letdown. Each of these,

or the cumulative effects of all them all, can result in a
case of the "holiday blues"--or even worse.

To help ease the stress of the holiday season, we have
created this holiday survival guide.

This guide is full of helpful tips on how to survive the
holidays.

Christmas should be a time of loving and for creating
fond memories, not for stressing, dreading and regretting.

We hope that this list of tips within our holiday survival
guide helps you in some way.

We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

Novi Community Coalition

Embrace a healthier lifestyle this holiday season and try one of Increased levels of stress are invariably cited as one of the
these booze free mock-tails
biggest contributors to the "holiday blues." In addition to stress,
Novi Community Coalition
Holiday Mock-tail some of the other oh-so-common factors that can lead to the

SPARKLING BERRY AND POMEGRANATE "holiday blues" include:
MOCKTAIL
• Fatigue
2 12-ounce cans of Dasani Sparkling Berry • Unrealistic expectations
Water, chilled • Feeling bombarded by over-commercialization
4 ounces fresh pomegranate juice • Strained relationship issues that surface when families get
8 to 12 cranberries, for garnish
4 to 8 sprigs of thyme, for garnish together
Instructions
In a highball glass, add half the serving of Dasani • Reminders of past losses of significant loved ones
Sparkling Berry Water, 1 ounce of the • Sadness over the contrast between "now" and "then"
pomegranate juice and 2-3 cranberries. Top with • Adapting to changes in family configurations & logistics for
1-2 sprigs of thyme for garnish. (ingredients
make enough for four in total). celebrating together caused by such new situations as divorce,
marriage, blended families, children grown, etc..
Novi Community Coalition
Holiday Mock-tail • Financial constraints and demands
• The inability to be with friends and family
GRINCH PUNCH • Triggers and temptations related to food, drugs, alcohol, or sex.
• Residue stress from unfortunate past experiences during
2 13oz packets Unsweetened Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid
Sugar previous holiday seasons
Pineapple Juice
Frozen Lemonade Concentrate, thawed • Tension caused by the additional demands of shopping in holiday
Sprite
Ice crowds, heavier-than-usual traffic, entertaining, holiday baking,
Red Sugar for Glass Trim long-distance travel, family reunions and/or houseguests
Instructions:
Pour 2 cups water in a gallon container, mix in cool-aid • Expectations to be joyful
mix and sugar. Now add pineapple juice and lemonade.
To top the rim of a glass, dip the top in water then dip
into the sanding sugar. Just before serving, add the
Sprite and ice and serve and enjoy!

Strategies to help reduce the stress Holidays can often present the opportunity for alcohol consumption.
Since alcohol is served at many holiday events, alcohol consumption can
• Self-care - Take time for you! easily become abused when people begin feeling stressed.
• Have fun and don't expect perfection
• Focus on the meaning of the holidays Alcohol is a depressant which means it impairs and slows the activity of
• Plan ahead the brain and nervous system. Alcohol is extremely addictive, and when
• Make a financial budget and stick to it abused long-term, the drug can eventually lead to symptoms of
• Anticipate stress depression.
• Keep expectations manageable
• Be realistic about what you can & cannot do. Don’t try to do It’s important to note that cognitive and reactive abilities are still
impaired, even when physical signs of intoxication begin to subside.
everything Despite not having alcohol recently or drinking a cup of coffee, you're
driving abilities are still impaired.
• Do something for someone else, give back, volunteer
• Spend time with supportive & caring people To enjoy a safe holiday celebration, consider these tips:
• Remember the holiday season does not banish reasons for
• Abstain. You do not need alcohol to be the life of the party.
feeling sad or lonely • Pace yourself. Avoid binge-drinking. Spread out the consumption of

• Stay active and make time to get physical exercise your drinks, consider one drink an hour.
• Get plenty of sleep
• Everything in moderation • Avoid drinks with unknown alcohol content or mixing alcohol with
• Stay hydrated, drink lots of water
• Take some time off work energy drinks. Caffeine in energy drinks or sodas can mask the
• Remember the holidays don't last forever effects of alcohol, causing people to drink more alcohol that than
• Build mental breaks into your daily schedule, meditation intended/are aware.
• Remember others may hold different values than you do
• Substitute alcoholic drinks for non-alcoholic drinks. Consider

drinking water between each alcoholic beverage to slow your pace
and dilute the alcohol in your bloodstream.

• Don’t forget to eat food. Starch-heavy foods soak up the alcohol and

will mitigate the effects of alcohol on your system.

• Secure a designated driver. Keep in mind that a designated driver

stays 100 percent sober --- not the person who drank the least.