andsolifebegins

Just wanted some info for those of you further in than me (15 days), do the cravings ease the further you go on or is this just something I will have to learn to live with?

I have good days & bad days but want to know honestly if the craving for that evening drink will ever really go away?!

X

Dee74

Things get better andsolifebegins - I don't think many of us could stay sober if they didn't

think about it tho - most of us drank for years...it will take us a little longer than 15 days to find a new 'normal'

D

seahorse661

In just under 6 months I have had 3 occurances of intense cravings. In the last 3 months, none. It does get less frequesnt and you also get better at stopping the thoughts as soon as they start, before they develop into intense cravings

Kaneda8888

A question for you and one which only you need to know the answer: do you wish to stop drinking completely or do you plan to start drinking again in the future ? The answer to that question may help you deal with the cravings. It is a difficult question to answer.

least

Yes, the cravings diminish with more sober time. Treat yourself well in the meantime to keep yourself healthy. This too shall pass.

ReadyAtLast

Yes they ease,both in intensity and freuqency. I'm 9 1/2months now and rarely get drinking thoughts. when I do they go pretty quickly.

It really does get better.

firstymer

I am only at Day 32, andso. My cravings had subsided quite a bit over the last couple weeks. Sometimes I would go an entire day without one. Then, yesterday, one washed over me like a really big wave. I was like, whoa, where did THAT come from? It kind of took me by surprise. I rode it out, thankfully, and it eventually went away. But I suspect it will be back on occasion. Just hopefully not as frequently. I think that knowing that the craving WILL eventually pass is what I am hoping will keep me from giving in to the craving in the future.

ScottFromWI

Definitely, the cravings diminish in frequency and intensity. I really only had what I'd call "intense" cravings for about the first month. After that I did still think about drinking and the memories associated with it, but never anything that i had to physically restrain myself from running out and grabbing a beer.

I'm still in my first year now ( around 9 months ) and honestly the idea of purchasing beer or ordering a beer at a restaruant doesn't even cross my mind. Yes, I still remember the past and think about it, but I dont' crave it at all. Having said that I DO remember exactly what would happen if I somehow did pick up again - i've gone that route in the past and very quickly found out that it only takes a short time to go back to heavy drinking.

Best of luck, 15 days is great - i would think you'll start noticing some big improvements in the upcoming weeks.

Nattythreads

I'm coming up for nine months and my cravings are confined to "oh I quite fancy a drink" after a stressful day. That's nothing more than a remnant of that adage "old habits die hard." They're probably no different thoughts to what any number of my friends who are normal drinkers experience.

I always end up by having a cup of tea instead and honestly don't think any more about it.

andsolifebegins

Thank you all for the encouraging words, at least I know the future will be brighter!!

I like being sober & how my life is going but most evenings I still crave a glass (or bottle!) of wine. I try to fill the void with food but can't keep going like that either or I'll be huge!!!

Next week is a new week so will try to be healthier foodwise!

I appreciate all of your experience & advice, it really is a big help on this journey! X

duane1

I found that once I got it through my head that I was never going to have a drink again, the cravings really subsided. I also found that AVRT worked well for me in the early going and really put a strangle hold on my alcoholic voice. I drank heavily every day for many years and I would have never believed that after 16 months, I would almost never give a second thought to alcohol.

andsolifebegins

That is very reassuring duane1 thank you, but what is AVRT??!!

Mentium

I am finding that if I have a different routine in the evenings (when I drank mostly) that helps. This evening for example, for the first time in ages I did what I used to do, which was open a bag of potato chips and a coke (instead of a bottle of wine) and watch crap on TV. This is a habit I have gotten out of this last month. I noticed suddenly that I missed... that missing element - the wine!

It wasn't a serious desire to drink, more a lingering sense of loss - I wasn't tempted, but I turned the TV off anyway!

Taking5

Addictive Voice Recognition Technique. Rational Recovery, a secular alternative to AA, is a big proponent of this:

Rational Recovery | The Crash Course On AVRT

Personally I am an AA guy but I have to admit AVRT made sense to me and I still use it sometimes. Some AA people I know might be upset to hear that, but it is what it is.

Anna

Yes, cravings do disappear, for sure. You're doing great, but it may take a little patience to get to that point. It also takes more than not drinking. I needed to make a lot of changes in my life, in my thinking, in order to recover.

BarbieKen

I was just done, done, done, with alcohol....after 30 years of drinking. When I sought help last November that was it. I am an alcoholic, just not a practicing one today! I chose "Life Starts when you Stop" because that's what happend. Hang in there friend, I go to AA for my Recovery. Whatever you decide to do, I've found that my life is beyond 'better'. Bobbi

digdug

I don't get cravings anymore, just passing thoughts. They flow through the river of my brain and I move on to the next thought.

"I wander what the weather will be like tomorrow?" -> "scotch was pretty good." -> "What should I make for breakfast?"

duane1

I have nothing against AA. I was going to go, but I gave myself one last chance and it just so happened that it stuck. I credit AVRT with helping me to quit. Stick with whatever you find that works for you. When I was knee deep in my addiction, alcohol was the most important thing in my life. Saturday I was at a family reunion with alcohol around and I of course noticed it, but never so much as dwelled on the thought of having a drink.

DoubleBarrel

I bring wonderful news and that is the cravings get MUCH better. They go from a loud roar to a quiet whisper.

Usually when I get some craving anymore, it is a predictable trigger.

I think of HALT, which is an acronym for hungry angry lonely tired.
If I am any of the above, I set about to change it. By that point craving is over.

The only time I really have a real craving I.e a desire for a drink, is when I see someone, usually on television, drinking a cold beer. I have the thought, that looks awfully good.

Then I think it though, all the way to me hung over, having anxiety attacks, trapped in the inevitable cycle leading to withdrawal if I can get stopped. That pretty much kills the urge.

ProgressNotPerfection

The mountains and valleys become gently rolling hills IF we stay clean and sober.