Spending the holidays with us
Original Photo Credit – Emmett Sparling
The best Christmas EVER, was the one I spent at the Orchard! I was given a priceless gift… my life back.
Sheri G., Eugene, Oregon.
Please call Joanna at 604-947-0420 or 1-866-233-2299 (toll free) or email Email Orchard Recovery. We are always ready to hear from you.
Why Rehab for Christmas?
At first, the thought of spending the holidays away from family is daunting but for those suffering from addiction, it can be the safest place to be. If you are struggling with addiction or your recovery, come celebrate the holidays at Orchard Recovery, where you’ll be in a tranquil, beautiful setting surrounded by people who want to help.
Many alcoholics and addicts opt to put off going to treatment until after the holidays. For those struggling with addiction, the holidays can prove challenging for a number of reasons. First off, the culture of the holiday season includes a lot of drinking. In addition, the holidays can prove to be tough emotionally for a lot of people. There’s an expectation of perfection – that everyone is going to have a picture perfect family holiday.
People suffering from grief and loss or facing any kind of emotional challenges can find the holidays to be difficult. “If their coping mechanism is to reach for alcohol or reach for a drug, then that intensifies at this time of year,” says Lorinda Strang, Orchard Recovery’s Executive Director. “You can get yourself into even more trouble.”
The holiday season can also prove stressful for the families and friends of those struggling with addiction. “What we have found from the people who actually do come in to treatment is it’s such a relief to the other family members,” says Strang. “Alcoholism and drug addiction is a disease of denial. Often you think you’re fooling everybody. You think that everybody else doesn’t see it; whereas in actual fact, everybody else does see that there’s a problem.”
Family members can find themselves walking on egg shells, worried about how their loved one is going to behave, and whether he or she is going to show up at family gatherings at all, or if there is going to be some kind of catastrophe.
“If you go into treatment, then you’re safe,” says Strang. “Your family knows that you’re safe, and everyone now has hope. You’re providing your family and yourself with peace of mind.”
“I had a wonderful sober Christmas for the first time in many years and I was grateful—it was a gift, a miracle and magical. If it wasn’t for the Christmas I spent at the Orchard, I doubt I would be sober today. I was where I was supposed to be that Christmas.”
Mary M., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
“It was the first time I spent Christmas with my mother since I was 21… I don’t think that I had felt that kind of love in any of my memories at that time.”
Jordan M., Calgary, Alberta
Please call Joanna at 604-947-0420 or 1-866-233-2299 (toll free) or email Email Orchard Recovery. We are always ready to hear from you.
Why finding help for your addiction can be the best gift you give and get this Christmas – View more in this Blog.
There is definitely an inherent value in actually starting the new year already sober. – View more in this Blog.