8 Ways to Leverage Holiday Family Triggers

Does the thought of spending time with your family cause your stomach to knot?

Here are 8 ways to fall in love with being triggered during the holidays:

Relapses reach their highest percentage of the year during the holiday season. Being exposed to family members stirs up deeply ingrained triggers and causes addicts to turn to substances to numb familiar pain.

Instead of excitement, many people in recovery dread holidays. As an addict in recovery, my solution to being triggered was complete avoidance of family interactions. In the name of self-preservation, it felt empowering to rewrite holiday memories of my own.

And, there isn’t anything unhealthy about that per se, but...

For me, the deepest, most transformational healing resulted from facing the triggers head-on as a means of learning about my own wounds. When I saw my family members as learning opportunities, my outlook shifted.

Here’s how I did it:

1-Change the Lens.

Take a step back and view family members with empathy:

They are operating from their own wounds, and nothing is personal.

The universe put them in your experience to help you heal.

2-Set the Intention.

Reframe how you experience the holidays by deciding to use everything that comes up as a healing catalyst.

Resolve not to allow your energy to feed into triggers.

Feel emotions throughout your body, but don't give in to them.

3-Observance Mode.

Approach the holidays as a student of your thoughts, behaviors, and actions.

You're conducting a research experiment in order to heal deep wounds.

Simply be aware of what's happening with curiosity.

4-Dive Into the Shark Tank.

Put yourself in triggering situations with family.

Instead of avoiding those who cause you pain, lean directly into their presence.

Practice mindfulness to maintain the observer state to refrain from knee-jerk reactions.

(For a deeper look into how to effectively process triggers, download my one-page 8-step quick guide below.)

5-Notes, Notes, Notes.

Detailed journaling is vital during this time.

Write down everything you are thinking and feeling- don't hold back.

6-Ask Empowering Questions.

In order to remain empowered instead of carried away by the triggering energy, ask the right questions:

How can this situation provide the most learning for me?

How could my family be the best catalyst for healing I've ever experienced?

7-Cleansing Energies.

After the interactions, it is important to cleanse any attached energies.

Smudge with sage, soak in Epsom salt, meditation.

8-Integrate Learning.

Synthesize the notes, ask the empowering questions, and then develop an action plan.

Adopt an affirmation that reflects the learning you unpacked from family triggers.

Weave this statement into your life every day.

There is no level of freedom like the illumination of your limiting beliefs.

There is no catalyst more powerful for this process than triggering family members.

There is no better time to experience this cleansing than the holiday season.

Dive in, get triggered, learn, heal, and experience holidays through the lens of gratitude!

Good luck and please reach out if you need my assistance in any way!

To help with the start-up costs of equipment and platforms, I've created a GoFundMe for my podcast, The AfterMeth. If you feel inclined, I would greatly appreciate the assistance!