Ashleek,
In my recovery program, when those times hit and I am tempted to use again I am to ask myself 4 questions...Am I hungry? Is this what I feel like eating? Is this what I feel like eating now? Is there something else that I could eat instead?
replace eat with "use"...and proceed.
What basically it boils down to for me, 99% of the time is that I am not craving the substance and all that goes with it, what I am craving is relief from panic, fear, boredom, disappointment in self, etc. I am not hungry for my drug, I am hungry for relief...the drug won't bring relief...so, I move on to something that will address the REAL hunger, and provide REAL relief. That something, right now, is sobriety and my recovery program.
So, instead of using a drug or self destructive behavior, I reach for my recovery tools...my NEW bag of tricks. They help relieve the terror now, AND propel me a step closer to the life I want to live. A win/win situation.
My program is everything to me, and those 4 questions are the first thing I run to when I have one of those days (yesterday was one of those days)
It wasn't very long into my program that I realized the power of those simple questions in heading me off at the pass...
I journal, that is also part of my program...work it all out on paper, and take the most useful of what I discover and put it into another notebook that I read and re read to remind myself what my own sober self has learned, it's a bit like writing MY OWN big book...my daily journal is mostly scribble scrabble, but when a gem is found...I put it into my big book, because I have learned that it works. And when I find a gem elsewhere, it goes into my recovery journal as well.
I turn to my recovery journal when I am having one of those days, and even when I am not to remind myself of the truths I've learned or gleaned from others, of the committments I've made, and the rewards of sobriety.
My recovery journal never leaves me with a hangover, relapse or regrets, the way using does.
hope this helps