County Durham Drug & Alcohol Recovery Service Offers Tips to ‘Keep Calm at Christmas’

A new campaign offering advice to vulnerable people and party goers to “Keep calm at Christmas”, has been launched.

Throughout December, the County Durham campaign messages will be shared in social media and posters. Handouts will be given to current clients with local and national emergency contact numbers for additional support.

Among the campaign’s Top Ten Tips to Stay Safe this Christmas include not giving in to peer pressure, drinking at your own pace and making sure you have planned how to get home safely.

Clare Chambers, Director at the County Durham Drug & Alcohol Recovery Service said: “The Christmas and New Year period is a time when people can relax and enjoy themselves but for some people that can get out of hand. Sometimes, people can go too far without realising it and end up accidentally hurting themselves or indeed other people.

“People going to parties and the pub can be swept along in rounds and suddenly feel overwhelmed by the amount of alcohol they have consumed.

Clare continued: “We’re offering our top ten tips and some advice to help people. That ranges from drinking more wisely to making sure that you and your friends get home safely at the end of the night.

“We want people to have fun and not have a reason to regret anything they have done over the Christmas and New Year period”.

The campaign runs alongside advice designed to help people deal with their emotional and mental wellbeing over the Christmas period. This side of the campaign helps people to deal with feelings of loneliness and depression as well as the pressures that can accompany the festive season.

County Durham will be sharing these messages of advice on social media under the hashtag #KeepCalmatChristmas and #SaferSeasonalDrinking.