Celebrating a Sober Pride

Pride Month is here! As the LGBTQIA+ community gathers to celebrate Pride Month, there tends to be an emphasis on partying and substance use. For anyone who is in recovery, sober pride is a must. Thankfully, there are ways to find and enjoy sober-friendly Pride events in your community. You can also come up with fun and unique ways to celebrate sober Pride for yourself.

Contact Your Community Representative

As your local community celebrates Pride, ask what parts of the festivities are friendly for sober celebrations. Many communities participate in a Pride parade, a community party or festival, live music, cookouts, and more. Ask what these celebrations will entail and even maybe how you can help. If you are worried there will be alcohol there, you can always bring your own non-alcoholic drinks. As long as you’re safe, your sobriety can survive Pride just like you do — one day at a time. 

Have a Sober Buddy 

If you’re going to a community Pride festival, you’ll probably have plenty of friends or familiar faces around you. They may not all be in recovery or sober, and it may be tempting to have a brief lapse. But you know your sobriety is important, and you also know the consequences of a lapse (no matter how “small”) can be devastating for you and your health. That’s why it’s important to bring along a sober buddy. You and your sober buddy can support each other in your decision to remain abstinent as you connect with old and new friends. 

Create Your Own Sober Pride Party

Start a social media group for people in your area, those you know in recovery, and maybe those you know from meetings or sobriety groups. You can use this group to organize and create your own sober Pride event.

Here are a few tips to get you started: 

• Solidify the invites. If this is a party to welcome anyone sober (strangers included), that’s great. Make sure that you are comfortable hosting and can promote the event accordingly. If it’s only for people you know, that’s great, too! Surely your friends will appreciate it. 
• Pick a venue. This could be your place of residence, a friend’s place of residence, a restaurant, an event hall, or any local community spot. If you choose a public park or another public venue, check your local park and city ordinances to make sure that your party can legally be held there. You will also want to make sure that your invite list is realistic for the selected venue. For example, if the venue is tiny, don’t invite more people than it can hold. 
• Plan activities, food, and drinks. Figure out what kind of things you’ll do at your Pride celebration, such as lawn games, a cookout, karaoke, a pool party, a costume or theme party, live music, or dancing. The possibilities are endless! Will you provide food and beverages or ask your guests to help? Potlucks are a great way to ensure that the monetary responsibility of food and beverages doesn’t land on you — just be sure to make it clear that you’re throwing a dry party. 
• Promote your event! Get the ball rolling by sending an invitation, Evite, group text, or email to everyone you hope will attend. You’ve got a great party on your hands! 

Volunteer for a Hotline or LGBTQIA+ Community Support Group

There are people of all ages in the LGBTQIA+ community who struggle to celebrate Pride and need a little support. Volunteer for a hotline or shelter for homeless LGBTQIA+ youth. Those who are having trouble staying safe, sober, or free from trauma will appreciate your kindness. You can help them celebrate all their happiest moments, including when they decided to be their true, authentic selves. Help them to see that things do get better, progress is being made, and they are worth saving. They have every right to be proud of themselves. 

Do Something Nice for Yourself

Participating in self-care and rewarding yourself for your success, progress, and health is another great way to celebrate Pride. This way, you’re honoring your love for yourself. 

Here are several ways to participate in self-care: 

• Enjoy a day at the spa

• Go to a meeting

• Clean out your living space and donate the things you don’t need

• Participate in some retail therapy

• Take a cooking class or try a new restaurant

• Go to a therapy session

• Get a haircut or new hairstyle

• Look for a job if you want to change your career

• Start exercise classes or join a gym
• Try a new hobby

With a positive outlook and an open mind, you can enjoy Pride Month to the fullest and still keep your recovery in check.

Staying sober during Pride festivities can be difficult if you usually identified Pride with partying and substance use in the past. It’s okay to grieve that piece of celebrating you once identified with, but remember that you are your best version of yourself sober. You are worth celebrating without substances. If you need a little help remembering that, call RECO Intensive. At RECO Intensive, we understand that both fun times and traumas in the past were often paired with addictive substances. We want to help you remain strong, abstinent, and proud of who you are in RECOvery. We know you’ve come a long way, and we want you to be as healthy as you can be. Join our alumni program or participate in therapy here at RECO Intensive. If you fear that a lapse has turned into a relapse, that’s okay. We can create a treatment plan catered specifically to you. Call us today at (561) 464-6533. Let’s get back to a brighter future.