10 Tips to Stay Safe and Healthy During the Holidays
Foundation for a Drug-Free World shares 10 different ways to stay drug-free and safe during end-of-the-year festivities.
While the holidays can bring joy, happiness and an opportunity to gather with families and friends, for some they can be trying and challenging times—a period of family conflict, financial strain, stress and loneliness. This can lead to drug and alcohol abuse.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 40 percent of traffic deaths over the holidays are related to alcohol consumption. And impairment by any type of legal or illicit drug—not just alcohol—can increase crash risk.
To help friends and loved ones stay safe from drug and alcohol abuse and their consequences during the holidays, Foundation for a Drug-Free World provides the following 10 tips:
- Stay active. Fill out your schedule with fun activities and don’t leave a minute to become bored. From spending time with family and kids to making Christmas cookies and decorating the Christmas tree, the holidays have many opportunities to stay busy.
- Spend time with people you love and feel good being around. While family gatherings might involve encountering relatives you would prefer not to see, spend your time with family members you feel comfortable with and with whom you can freely communicate.
- Be temperate. Drink in moderation and enjoy the festivities without next-day sickness and headaches.
- Have someone drive you. If you have more than one drink, have another person safely drive you back home.
- Play games. Plan games and other group activities with family and friends to stay entertained during the holidays. Family dinners can be lengthy and boring. Make it fun.
- Maintain your basics. Eat regularly, exercise and sleep well to stay healthy.
- Think of the consequences. Headache, nausea, fever, anger, irritability, restlessness—these are all after-effects of drinking too much alcohol or using drugs. Do you really want to feel that way during the holidays?
- Help a friend. Pick a friend or family member who will accept your challenge of staying clean and drug-free during the holidays. Make it a game.
- Do things you enjoy doing. Do what makes you happy and joyful. Don’t participate in activities that will bring you down and make you feel stressed.
- Set a new trend. Create a climate where being drug-free and sober is the cool thing to be. You can have fun and enjoy festivities without taking drugs or binge drinking. Who says getting sick from overdrinking or drugs is cool?
Know the facts. Visit drugfreeworld.org/course and start the Truth About Drugs online courses to get the real facts about drugs and make informed decisions on this urgent subject.
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a volunteer-based organization with a network of 200 chapters around the world. Thanks to the support of the Church of Scientology and Scientologists, the Foundation provides the Truth About Drugs secular program and materials free of charge to drug educators worldwide. For more information visit the Foundation for a Drug-Free World website.
