Please help me...cravings
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: near Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 377
Please help me...cravings
I am signing off now - I pray to my Higher Power that, when I wake up tomorrow, there is some great advice from my friends on SR, how to stay stopped, in terms of drinking.
Kelly, Day 34 sober
Kelly, Day 34 sober
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,385
I think cravings are something all of us need to address at some time Kelly....it's a natural part of stopping drinking.
I found this technique was useful for me
Overcoming Life's Obstacles: Urge Surfing to beat addictions and cravings
D
I found this technique was useful for me
Overcoming Life's Obstacles: Urge Surfing to beat addictions and cravings
D
Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Albany NY
Posts: 1,212
I found these to be useful early on....
When that craving hits, it is usually a sneaky thought triggered by something on the outside. An awareness of the trigger is a good start, but sometimes that just isn't enough.
Whatever triggers that craving can produce a seductive thought - like, "I used to have so much fun, I miss being with my friends, I'll never have fun again..." you know the thoughts I'm talking about.
So if you continue playing the tape in your mind: You pick up, I'm having fun, I'm surrounded by friends, and then......I know I'll go overboard, I'll get into fights, I'll get another DWI, I'll lose my license again, I'll lose my job, I'll be in jail, I'll burn through what I've gone through over the past 33 days, etc. Insert whatever brings reality back to the situation. You know your reasons for becoming sober, know the pain drinking/drugging caused, so insert that in the end of your tape.
I also was taught to think about the "sleeping tiger" inside. I visualize that the disease (tiger) is always inside, waiting to spring, and that all I have to do is add...(alcohol, pills, etc) to wake the raging beast up. It was enough to keep me from going back to where I was.
As soon as you recognize this stinking thinking, try not to get mired down into it. It is the disease talking. Doing something differently, every day and every time these cravings strike, helps calm these thoughts midstream. If you are a couch potato, get up and walk. If you are active, raise the bar on your normal exercise routine. If you are at work, step away from the desk, counter etc and engage in a conversation, if that is not what you are used to doing.
And it never hurts to have a plan in place for some common situations you know you will face along the way.
Good luck, and congrats on day 34 - keep going.....
When that craving hits, it is usually a sneaky thought triggered by something on the outside. An awareness of the trigger is a good start, but sometimes that just isn't enough.
Whatever triggers that craving can produce a seductive thought - like, "I used to have so much fun, I miss being with my friends, I'll never have fun again..." you know the thoughts I'm talking about.
So if you continue playing the tape in your mind: You pick up, I'm having fun, I'm surrounded by friends, and then......I know I'll go overboard, I'll get into fights, I'll get another DWI, I'll lose my license again, I'll lose my job, I'll be in jail, I'll burn through what I've gone through over the past 33 days, etc. Insert whatever brings reality back to the situation. You know your reasons for becoming sober, know the pain drinking/drugging caused, so insert that in the end of your tape.
I also was taught to think about the "sleeping tiger" inside. I visualize that the disease (tiger) is always inside, waiting to spring, and that all I have to do is add...(alcohol, pills, etc) to wake the raging beast up. It was enough to keep me from going back to where I was.
As soon as you recognize this stinking thinking, try not to get mired down into it. It is the disease talking. Doing something differently, every day and every time these cravings strike, helps calm these thoughts midstream. If you are a couch potato, get up and walk. If you are active, raise the bar on your normal exercise routine. If you are at work, step away from the desk, counter etc and engage in a conversation, if that is not what you are used to doing.
And it never hurts to have a plan in place for some common situations you know you will face along the way.
Good luck, and congrats on day 34 - keep going.....
SR Fan
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 7,910
Like Dee said, it's normal to get cravings, so don't let it freak you out when you get one. I used lots of different things to help me get through them:
Reading, reading, reading on SR
Eating something if I was hungry
Resting if I was tired
Remind myself I wouldn't feel this way forever
Fast forward through the first couple of drinks to the consequences
Divert my mind - watch TV, read, clean, whatever
Think of the long term gain
Pray/meditate
Make a gratitude list
Think about how I want to feel the next day
Just remember - cravings will make you feel crazy, but they can't hurt you. Alcohol will rob you of everything.
You may just need a good night's sleep....... hang in there!:ghug3
Reading, reading, reading on SR
Eating something if I was hungry
Resting if I was tired
Remind myself I wouldn't feel this way forever
Fast forward through the first couple of drinks to the consequences
Divert my mind - watch TV, read, clean, whatever
Think of the long term gain
Pray/meditate
Make a gratitude list
Think about how I want to feel the next day
Just remember - cravings will make you feel crazy, but they can't hurt you. Alcohol will rob you of everything.
You may just need a good night's sleep....... hang in there!:ghug3
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
In early sobriety....I timed my cravings.
They were 5-7 minutes in duration. at their longest
Not too long too endure discomfort
.
Soooo....I took action...I prayed ...ate hardcandy ..took showers
Walked...rushed my teeth... Drank cold water... danced around the room
listened to soothing music..ate ice cream.
Within 2 weeks...the lessened in both time and intensity.
By 2 or so months .... they vanished. neverreturned.
Now...were they mental or physical?
Darn if I know. Nor do I care....
Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: California
Posts: 624
I know it sounds a bit cuckoo but something I read in the Rational Recovery book works wonders for me. I acknowledge the 'Beast'.
When the craving hits, I acknowledge it: 'Oh, hello, you".
When I still feel it, I mentally say: "yes, I see you are still there. But I'm not feeding you".
Then I tell it "I am starving you....I know you will never die, but I will never nourish you with what you request EVER AGAIN. Therefore, I remain stronger than YOU".
I imagine the booze beast as the most hideous, ugly monster you can ever imagine. Picture 'Alien' or something similar, lurking deep inside you. Feel it whimper as it goes unfed...you know feeding 'it' will only make it stronger. It WAS stronger than you at some point - when your drinking was ruining your life. Now it's dying - slowly - and it's going to make a feeble fuss every now and then.
I know it sounds barmy, but it really worked for me. And making a mental image of it as a monster helped me realize how disgusting, ruthless and cruel it would be to ME if I allowed it life again.
When the craving hits, I acknowledge it: 'Oh, hello, you".
When I still feel it, I mentally say: "yes, I see you are still there. But I'm not feeding you".
Then I tell it "I am starving you....I know you will never die, but I will never nourish you with what you request EVER AGAIN. Therefore, I remain stronger than YOU".
I imagine the booze beast as the most hideous, ugly monster you can ever imagine. Picture 'Alien' or something similar, lurking deep inside you. Feel it whimper as it goes unfed...you know feeding 'it' will only make it stronger. It WAS stronger than you at some point - when your drinking was ruining your life. Now it's dying - slowly - and it's going to make a feeble fuss every now and then.
I know it sounds barmy, but it really worked for me. And making a mental image of it as a monster helped me realize how disgusting, ruthless and cruel it would be to ME if I allowed it life again.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: San francisco,ca
Posts: 112
Kelly, Just like you I've had my battles with cravings, but unlike you I usually give in. You actually managed to go though the day and make it to bed, and that is a big win in my book. Cravings usually rise, peak, and then subside within 1-2 hrs. At least thats what I've been told. If your reading this after you've slept, chances are your feeling better and will be able to do it again. And aventually the cravings will die down and become less of a chalenge in your sobriety...so I've been told.
Newwings, I love your analagy of cravings ("The Beast Within"). The idea of fighting something inside of me, as opposed to fighting myself, seems a bit more manageable.
Thanks to both of you for posting.
Newwings, I love your analagy of cravings ("The Beast Within"). The idea of fighting something inside of me, as opposed to fighting myself, seems a bit more manageable.
Thanks to both of you for posting.
JUST DO IT!!
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Here Or There
Posts: 7,612
Originally Posted by CarolD 
In early sobriety....I timed my cravings.
They were 5-7 minutes in duration. at their longest
Not too long too endure discomfort
.
Soooo....I took action...I prayed ...ate hardcandy ..took showers
Walked...rushed my teeth... Drank cold water... danced around the room
listened to soothing music..ate ice cream.
Within 2 weeks...the lessened in both time and intensity.
By 2 or so months .... they vanished. neverreturned.
Now...were they mental or physical?
Darn if I know. Nor do I care....
Usually Cravings for me lasted at the most no more than 10 minutes. Once I would start to have them I at Once would get up from whatever I was doing and get my mind focused on something different, I would say something like, "Please don't let me think this way" or "Take this craving away" or "Get the Hell out of my Life I don't Use anymore"
You will find that eventually those cravings will not show up at all. glad that you posted. Hope that you're OK today!
It is a lovely day to be Sober Today!
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: The Great Outdoors
Posts: 1,992
If we are gonna do mental images I use this one. I think of alcohol and my liver the same way as baking soda on a slug. Every time the alcohol hits my liver it will sizzle and slowly eat it. Gross..but it works for me.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,476
Kelly, you've gotten through your rehab and will soon be heading home.
You've learned a lot, and there's lots of good advice here for you, so hang in there and know that you can make it.
You've learned a lot, and there's lots of good advice here for you, so hang in there and know that you can make it.
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