Reclaiming Your Wellness Month is a time to reflect on your current relationship with alcohol and identify where you are now, where you would like to be, and steps that can help you get there. Now in its ninth year, the awareness month was previously called Sober for October.
To help you on your wellness journey, the First Nations Health Authority's (FNHA) Wellness Team, in partnership with harm reduction and substance use specialists, has developed a short toolkit. Called Walking Side by Side, Our Journey with Alcohol Use, it was designed to support First Nations individuals in reflecting on their relationship with alcohol, wherever they may be on their journey. It also acknowledges that each person's experience is unique, shaped by their strengths, resilience, and cultural teachings.
Download the toolkit here
The journey begins with self-reflection. As you read, you are invited to consider questions about your alcohol use, including cravings, consumption frequency, and how it impacts your health and relationships. Tools like the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and FNHA's Wellness Diary help deepen this reflection, encouraging people to explore what grounds them, whether that be your culture, community, or your own personal wellness aspirations.
There are three pathways, each tailored to different goals:
- Safer Drinking
For those who choose to continue drinking the same amount as usual, the toolkit provides strategies to make you safer. These include knowing personal limits, drinking more slowly, eating balanced meals, alternating with water, and choosing lower-alcohol beverages. - Reducing Drinking
For those seeking to cut back, practical tips include sipping slowly, choosing alcohol-free alternatives, and engaging in wellness activities like arts, culture or sports. Bringing your own non-alcoholic beverages to gatherings and setting personal drinking limits are also encouraged. Reflection on the reasons behind your drinking, such as coping with stress or trauma, can guide individuals toward professional support. - Stopping Drinking
For those who feel they want to stop drinking completely, safety is paramount. Withdrawal symptoms can be serious, and medical support may be necessary. Strategies include removing alcohol from the home, creating exit plans for social situations, and seeking community support through programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or FNHA's Virtual Substance Use and Psychiatry Service. Volunteering and reconnecting with cultural teachings are also powerful tools for healing.
Throughout the journey, the FNHA promotes an Indigenous harm reduction approach, one that avoids blame or shame and meets individuals with empathy and respect. Healing and wellness are personal, and while every step forward is a choice made by the individual, support is always nearby. Whether someone chooses to drink more safely, reduce their consumption, or stop entirely, they are not alone. This toolkit walks beside them, offering guidance, resources, and hope.
For even more resources beyond the toolkit listed above, visit the links below:
For information on treatment centres, visit the link here.
Explore All Paths Lead to Wellness, which provides a description of the range of substance-use supports available while also recognizing the diverse needs of individuals.
Check out the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation website for information on programs and services for substance use and addiction. Also, more information and support networks can be found at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction website.
Review the recent announcement of new alcohol-consumption guidelines; visit the link here.
You can also access culturally safe care through the FNHA' s Virtual Substance Use and Psychiatry Service, which provides BC First Nations people and their family members (even if non-Indigenous) with access to specialists in addictions medicine and psychiatry.
