cravings
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
cravings
This is my experience and what I did....
shared with hope others may find it useful..
In early sobriety....I timed my cravings.
They were 5-7 minutes in duration.
Not too long too endure discomfort
.
Soooo....I took action....I prayed. ..took abubble bath.danced
walked...rushed my teeth... Drank cold water...ate Lifesavers
listened to favorite tunes....anything for a distraction.
Within 2 weeks...the lessened in both time and intensity.
Now...were they mental or physical?
Darn if I know. Nor do I care...they were overcome without alcohol.
Forward we go...side by side
Please add your experiences if you have any on how you dealt with cravings.
shared with hope others may find it useful..
In early sobriety....I timed my cravings.
They were 5-7 minutes in duration.
Not too long too endure discomfort
.
Soooo....I took action....I prayed. ..took abubble bath.danced
walked...rushed my teeth... Drank cold water...ate Lifesavers
listened to favorite tunes....anything for a distraction.
Within 2 weeks...the lessened in both time and intensity.
Now...were they mental or physical?
Darn if I know. Nor do I care...they were overcome without alcohol.
Forward we go...side by side
Please add your experiences if you have any on how you dealt with cravings.
told myself to just wait a half hour
drank hot tea
listened to foreign language instructional CD's (goofy, I know, but because I was listening and repeating out loud it totally distracted me)
tried to reflect on the Four Noble Truths (the cause of suffering is attachment)
drank hot tea
listened to foreign language instructional CD's (goofy, I know, but because I was listening and repeating out loud it totally distracted me)
tried to reflect on the Four Noble Truths (the cause of suffering is attachment)
I tried to think "what does my body want", a body would never want alcohol so I would drink a glass of water or tonic. I drank as many bottles of water or tonic a day that I drank alcohol so basically had a "drink" in my hand all the time.
Smoking was similar. A craving would come and I would pop a stir stick in my mouth or an unsweetened candy. Worked every time.
In time my body would stop sending messages of cravings.
I have not craved alcohol or a smoke in months.
Smoking was similar. A craving would come and I would pop a stir stick in my mouth or an unsweetened candy. Worked every time.
In time my body would stop sending messages of cravings.
I have not craved alcohol or a smoke in months.
Depending on the weather, I walked my dogs... a lot... I think they might miss my early sobriety days cause they got so many walks.
I also came here and read posts to distract and 'positize' myself.
I also did Earnest Angley-type evangelism on myself: smack myself on the head and yell, "thou alcoholic demons, come OUT!" I got headaches but no hangovers
I also came here and read posts to distract and 'positize' myself.
I also did Earnest Angley-type evangelism on myself: smack myself on the head and yell, "thou alcoholic demons, come OUT!" I got headaches but no hangovers
This is my experience and what I did....
shared with hope others may find it useful..
In early sobriety....I timed my cravings.
They were 5-7 minutes in duration.
Not too long too endure discomfort
.
Soooo....I took action....I prayed. ..took abubble bath.danced
walked...rushed my teeth... Drank cold water...ate Lifesavers
listened to favorite tunes....anything for a distraction.
Within 2 weeks...the lessened in both time and intensity.
Now...were they mental or physical?
Darn if I know. Nor do I care...they were overcome without alcohol.
Forward we go...side by side
Please add your experiences if you have any on how you dealt with cravings.
shared with hope others may find it useful..
In early sobriety....I timed my cravings.
They were 5-7 minutes in duration.
Not too long too endure discomfort
.
Soooo....I took action....I prayed. ..took abubble bath.danced
walked...rushed my teeth... Drank cold water...ate Lifesavers
listened to favorite tunes....anything for a distraction.
Within 2 weeks...the lessened in both time and intensity.
Now...were they mental or physical?
Darn if I know. Nor do I care...they were overcome without alcohol.
Forward we go...side by side
Please add your experiences if you have any on how you dealt with cravings.
I don't really have any cravings to drink, but I have cravings for ice cream, almost every night. !!5
Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,237
I had a mental obsession...not so much physical...certain times of the times I would think about drinking, because that's what I always did! so I just filled my time with positive things...and started meditating....I am happy to say I haven't had a craving in awhile now!!
I call someone. I also play a PC game in which I use Ventrillo to talk to people during the game. I jumped into random vent channels just to see who was there. If there were people, I would hop in regardless of whether I knew them or not. Then I'd just start telling jokes. Soon, people chip in, their laughing, we're all having a good time. Before I know it, 20 minutes later I'm like why did I come in here again?
I made a conscious effort to examine the craving or the impulse/desire to have a drink.
I noticed a big part of my craving had been embedded by daily habit over decades, so I figured a good way to address the craving was to change the habit. To change the habit I had to not act on the craving. So when the craving came, I would postpone an action on it "until tomorrow." Soon, my craving began to realize it would have to wait. Eventually, after a number of such "postponements" the craving started to crumble...
i could even picture the letters disassociating from the word in disgust... until craving became a blank space. meditation has also helped a lot, and beautiful music.
I noticed a big part of my craving had been embedded by daily habit over decades, so I figured a good way to address the craving was to change the habit. To change the habit I had to not act on the craving. So when the craving came, I would postpone an action on it "until tomorrow." Soon, my craving began to realize it would have to wait. Eventually, after a number of such "postponements" the craving started to crumble...
i could even picture the letters disassociating from the word in disgust... until craving became a blank space. meditation has also helped a lot, and beautiful music.
I checked my HALT meter.... usually I was either hungry, tired or stressed. So I would eat something, think about getting a good night's sleep, and come here and post/read (something I do daily - it's a great preventative measure and I enjoy it).
Other tricks: be the observer, recognize the feeling for what it is (a feeling only), know that "this too shall pass" and think of the positives of sobriety and the things I have to be grateful for.
Good thread, Carol!!
Other tricks: be the observer, recognize the feeling for what it is (a feeling only), know that "this too shall pass" and think of the positives of sobriety and the things I have to be grateful for.
Good thread, Carol!!
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