Healing Through the Holidays: Overcoming Grief, Loneliness, and Addiction with Powerful Creative Strategies

In this powerful and vulnerable episode of the Confident Sober Women Podcast, host Shelby and guest Christy dive deep into the complex emotional landscape of grief, loss, and loneliness—especially during the holiday season. Drawing from personal experiences of recovery, grief, and healing, they offer compassionate strategies for managing difficult emotions and creating meaningful experiences.

Key Takeaways

• Understanding Grief: Grief isn't linear and doesn't have an expiration date. It's normal and healthy to experience emotions at your own pace.
• Creative Healing: Creativity can be a powerful tool for processing emotions, from painting and journaling to cooking and gardening.
• Building Support: Creating a supportive "A-team" of understanding individuals who can sit with you in your emotions is crucial.
• Redefining Expectations: You have the power to define what holidays and personal experiences mean to you.

Healing Strategies Discussed

1. Emotional Acknowledgment

• Normalize your feelings of sadness, loneliness, and grief
• Avoid rushing to "fix" or suppress emotions
• Recognize that not everyone will understand your emotional process

2. Creative Expression

• Use creativity as a healing mechanism
• Experiment with various forms of creative expression: 

3. Physical Movement

• Engage in movement to process and release emotions
• Simple activities like walking, sitting outside, or feeling sunshine can be healing
• Use physical activities to connect with your body and senses

4. Ritual Creation

• Develop personal rituals to honor loss and memories
• Examples include: 
  • Lighting candles
  • Creating memory journals
  • Establishing new family traditions
  • Participating in memorial events

Connect with the Host
Website: purpledogsober.com  Instagram: @purpledogsober 

Support the show

Support the show

Oh, and by the way, if you didn’t know, my program Sober Freedom Transformation is now open! It is for women who have been sober for a year to many and are ready to discover who they want to be in long term sobreity, develop confidence and improve their relationships.

If you aren't part of the Confident Sober Women Facebook group, it's a great place to be. There are over a thousand other sober women there building lives they don't want to escape from. Come on over and join us.

And if you haven't read my memoir, grab a copy today and maybe a second one for a friend. There is so much hope in recovery, and I shared my story so raw and vulnerably so that others would know they aren't alone and that there is a way to live well, manage relationships, parent your kids, and have a healthy body, all while staying sober. Grab a copy of Recovering in Recovery: The Life-Changing Joy of Sobriety wherever books are sold.