For people in many parts of the world, today is Boxing Day. During this day, people often gather together to exchange gifts with one another. As much as I like gifts, the older I get, the more I realize that such celebrations aren’t really about the gift giving. They’re more about the gathering.

Gathering together, fellowship, and support are important throughout the whole year, of course. They’re especially important during tough times, such as when someone is struggling with drug and alcohol abuse or recovering from such abuse.

Gathering together is so important that it often plays a major role in drug and alcohol rehab treatment and the treatment people receive after rehab, or aftercare. In fact, this is probably what a lot of people picture when they hear words like rehab, recovery, or sobriety—a bunch of people gathered together, telling their stories and offering their support.

This is the model used in groups that promote sobriety. These groups include 12 step groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and non 12 step organizations, such as Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS). These organizations offer gathering and support in meetings, and AA and NA also offer support by having their members serve as sponsors (mentors) to new members.

Such organizations and meetings provide opportunities to meet and support others in their sobriety. They provide opportunities that might be a change for the newly sober individuals, who may have previously spent their time using substances in the company of other people who also used.

Gathering, then, might encourage drug and alcohol abuse, or it might encourage recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. Gathering with the right people can make all the difference. It can help determine addiction or sobriety, or even life or death. It can also determine whether you’re getting fruitcake, too, but that’s another matter.