Holidays are a time of celebrations, ritual, changes in routine; and often, substance use. Do you find yourself having a few too many drinks at a holiday party; Or smoking, or using drugs more than you usually would?

Whether your drinking or drug use concerns you in your day-to-day life, or whether it’s just the holidays that bring new questions, talking about your substance use can generate new insight into what drives it. Even if your use is more occasional, or not something you’re sure you’d change.

Like other behaviors, substance use can hold many different meanings at once, and use during the holidays may bring this into stark relief. Maybe you consider yourself a social drinker, but find you drink by yourself with more downtime. Or perhaps you’ve noticed you’re vaping in places where you usually wouldn’t . Or maybe you feel anxious when you know you won’t be able to smoke cannabis while traveling. A part of you might notice these changes with judgment and criticism, while another part thinks of reasons it makes sense—why this doesn’t really count.

Our stance is one of curiosity, thinking along with you as you wonder what this use is doing for you, what might be driving it in the first place, and how this relates to other parts of your life. Exploring your substance use with someone in psychoanalytic psychotherapy means uncovering all parts of your substance use, including those that are unconscious, so that you can make authentic choices for yourself any time of year.

References

Tatarsky, A. (2007). The psychoanalytic contribution. Harm reduction psychotherapy: A new treatment for drug and alcohol problems (2nd ed., pp. 50-71). Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Morris, J., Boness, C. L., & Witkiewitz, K. (2023). Should we promote alcohol problems as a continuum? Implications for policy and practice. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2023.2187681