Popular culture depicts the holiday season as a happy time when everyone is surrounded by friends and family.

Joe Mahoney, executive director of the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Addiction Center, said these depictions can provoke melancholy for people already struggling with feelings of sadness, depression or anxiety. These feelings can trigger symptoms of addiction in some, he said.

“Our clients express there are certain holidays in their past that haven't been great,” he said. “Maybe there was no food on the table, maybe they were in jail. ... Our clients have experienced dissonance and their natural coping mechanism would be turning to a substance,” Mahoney said.

Multiple treatment and inpatient centers in Butler County offer recovery programs for addiction and mental illness, which continue through the entire year.

Mahoney said that even people who haven't found themselves in addiction or depressive states in the past can feel negative emotions during this time of year, which can have lasting impacts on one's health.

“Our therapists do a lot of ... processing holiday stressors with the clients,” he said. “We know society at large presents it as the happiest times; that's not the case for most people, whether they are struggling with grief and loss, job loss, there are people struggling and seeing portrayals (that) kind of aggravate that stress.”

A client of the Grapevine Center, who identified himself as a Butler resident named “Shadoe,” said the holiday season is a lonely time for him. He said through years of addiction, he “burned many bridges” and pushed many people close to him away, so he finds himself empty on Christmas.

“To this very day, I can't do Christmas,” Shadoe said last Tuesday. “You don't have family or friends because of addiction. During addiction, we burn so many bridges, it becomes a memory of the past.”

Shadoe said he has been in and out of recovery for drug addiction for years, and being around other people in similar situations helps with progress in recovery. He said he planned to be at the Grapevine Center for some of its scheduled holiday meals on the day after Christmas and New Year's Day.

Kayla Rennie is the substance use disorder VISTA for Slippery Rock University's Institute for Nonprofit Leadership. She said Butler SUCCEED is doing a “12 Days of Recovery” program that culminates in a New Year's Eve event to give people in recovery a place to celebrate in a clean environment.She said the aim is to take away the pressure that stems from the depicted jolly feelings of the season.“There can be a lot of triggers around the holiday season,” Rennie said. “It's just a time to get together and celebrate recovery.”According to Mahoney, 60% of the clients of the Gaiser Center are obligated to be there, while 40% attend by their own volition. He said the center provides sessions and even a meal on Christmas for clients, so they have somewhere to go on what could be a lonely holiday.“We focus a lot on taking care of our clients and making it as normal of a Christmas as they can possibly get,” he said. “We'll have special dinners and breakfasts. We at least try to make them special. On New Year's, we try to help find outlets for fun that don't involve substances.”The 12 Days of Recovery being promoted by Butler SUCCEED encourages people to create new traditions, express gratitude and abide by a buddy system to keep each other accountable. On New Year's Eve, the center will provide materials for attendees to create cards and play games in an effort to keep a healthy environment.“They're super excited to get together,” Rennie said about frequent attendees of Butler SUCCEED programs. “We have been trying to do ongoing programming for people in recovery.”

Shadoe said that despite the trust issues people develop from addiction and the differing backgrounds people in recovery come from, he has found people to trust at the Grapevine Center. He also said the programs offered by the center are helpful to him by simply keeping him occupied through work and activities.“They will find ways to keep you here and keep you busy,” Shadoe said.Mahoney said the average length of stay at the Gaiser Center is 90 days. During a person's stay, other people may come in and out of the center, but the collective group often becomes tight-knit.“Every client community will have a different dynamic,” Mahoney said. “One person leaving and one coming always changes the dynamic, but they always settle into a family relationship.”Shadoe said the experience shared by many people who went through addiction help them bond with one another and continue on their journey of recovery.“With other addicts, a lot of our stories are similar,” Shadoe said. “We're all misfits, but because of that we are united.”