The holiday season is upon us, meaning it's time to reflect on another pandemic year — and raise our glasses to celebrate the big and small joys that have kept us going.

Drinking has been a big part of winter holiday celebrations for nearly thousands of years. "It's been around for a long time, and since the beginning of time, there have also been people who have not been able to use alcohol in moderation," says Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist at Stanford University and the author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Abundance.

Lembke and other experts say most people who drink alcohol over the next few weeks, with family, at office parties, on New Year's Eve, will just be fine. But they also point out that this can be a uniquely risky time of year for some alcohol consumers.

If you think alcohol is problematic for you, or want to avoid drinking too much during the holidays, or just aren't the biggest drinker, here are some strategies for navigating end-of-year celebrations.

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