Cravings
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 21
Cravings
All day. 20 Days without a drink, cravings today are the worst so far. Decided to go to closest AA meeting instead of liquor store. Turned out to be a woman's meeting. Couldn't help but laugh. So still 20 days.
But holy hell, the cravings are intense. When do they go away?
But holy hell, the cravings are intense. When do they go away?
Realising my life
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Dorset, England
Posts: 3,656
20 days is brilliant, notdoingfine, and so is your sense of humour! 
I know it may not feel like it, but the cravings really do get easier in time.
For now, just tell them to shut up, because you'll have THREE WEEKS tomorrow!
I know it may not feel like it, but the cravings really do get easier in time.
For now, just tell them to shut up, because you'll have THREE WEEKS tomorrow!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: uk
Posts: 382
If you can figure out what is best for you to curb cravings then try find that fast! Things ASWELL as AA if that is working for you. As many things the better.
I know some eat lots of sweets sober, but I know sugar intake is directly related, so sweets are a big no no for me.
For me, what's working is having a drinking regime, of non-alcoholic drinks through out the day... different herbal teas and a set amount of water.
If I stick to it I don't crave, when I don't I really do.
I know some eat lots of sweets sober, but I know sugar intake is directly related, so sweets are a big no no for me.
For me, what's working is having a drinking regime, of non-alcoholic drinks through out the day... different herbal teas and a set amount of water.
If I stick to it I don't crave, when I don't I really do.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 146
Awesome going to a meeting that was not coed and finding the grocery store! Anything to waylay the cravings. They don't last for long. Everytime you resist, you are building up that "I Quit Muscle" and it will get easier. Take it one day, one hour and even minutes at a time.
For me the cravings went away when I admitted I needed help and ASKED for help by calling a treatment center and checking myself in. I did not crave after that day. I did, however struggle with "what do I do now?" for a long time...
For me the cravings went away when I admitted I needed help and ASKED for help by calling a treatment center and checking myself in. I did not crave after that day. I did, however struggle with "what do I do now?" for a long time...
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 5,678
The best tip I ever got for dealing with cravings was to tell someone about it. Usually best here rather than a random stranger or something 
But the point is it gives it more power if we keep them to ourselves. I always felt that by telling others I was giving the craving away, and it went.
But the point is it gives it more power if we keep them to ourselves. I always felt that by telling others I was giving the craving away, and it went.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Georgia
Posts: 3,062
They go away when you build new pathways in your brain.....you have created a habit of drinking. When you get a craving, don't drink no matter what. Do something else instead. The cravings do become less intense and do not last as long over time 
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 21
I'm telling everybody I see I'm having cravings. Lady at the grocery picking out lettuce looked at me as though I'm nuts. I think I am as you'll see below.
There are a couple of things that are really sort of triggering these:
1. Going back to work tomorrow after 3 weeks off. Did the detox thing. When I got out I was still sort of hopped up on benzos, so the not drinking was (relatively?) easy compared to today. Took the next two weeks to start a IOP and attend every drinking related meeting I could go to. AA. LifeRing, etc. Whatever keeps me sober. The going back to work tomorrow has me stressed. Only HR knows why I was out. Have a lot of anxiety and fear about what to say, what to do, etc. with boss, with peers, with folks that report to me. Man, I'd like a drink.
2. This is the nuts part. To complete the IOP on schedule I need to be sober for 30 days. They tell me these need to be consecutive days. Go figure. The completion date is Nov 22. So my overly clever drunk brain is telling me I should go have a drink before Tuesday. And hell, that's not even the point of the IOP. It's to stay sober for a life time. How's that for nuts?
There are a couple of things that are really sort of triggering these:
1. Going back to work tomorrow after 3 weeks off. Did the detox thing. When I got out I was still sort of hopped up on benzos, so the not drinking was (relatively?) easy compared to today. Took the next two weeks to start a IOP and attend every drinking related meeting I could go to. AA. LifeRing, etc. Whatever keeps me sober. The going back to work tomorrow has me stressed. Only HR knows why I was out. Have a lot of anxiety and fear about what to say, what to do, etc. with boss, with peers, with folks that report to me. Man, I'd like a drink.
2. This is the nuts part. To complete the IOP on schedule I need to be sober for 30 days. They tell me these need to be consecutive days. Go figure. The completion date is Nov 22. So my overly clever drunk brain is telling me I should go have a drink before Tuesday. And hell, that's not even the point of the IOP. It's to stay sober for a life time. How's that for nuts?
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
Originally Posted by notdoingfine 
I'm telling everybody I see I'm having cravings. Lady at the grocery picking out lettuce looked at me as though I'm nuts. I think I am as you'll see below.
There are a couple of things that are really sort of triggering these:
1. Going back to work tomorrow after 3 weeks off. Did the detox thing. When I got out I was still sort of hopped up on benzos, so the not drinking was (relatively?) easy compared to today. Took the next two weeks to start a IOP and attend every drinking related meeting I could go to. AA. LifeRing, etc. Whatever keeps me sober. The going back to work tomorrow has me stressed. Only HR knows why I was out. Have a lot of anxiety and fear about what to say, what to do, etc. with boss, with peers, with folks that report to me. Man, I'd like a drink.
2. This is the nuts part. To complete the IOP on schedule I need to be sober for 30 days. They tell me these need to be consecutive days. Go figure. The completion date is Nov 22. So my overly clever drunk brain is telling me I should go have a drink before Tuesday. And hell, that's not even the point of the IOP. It's to stay sober for a life time. How's that for nuts?
There are a couple of things that are really sort of triggering these:
1. Going back to work tomorrow after 3 weeks off. Did the detox thing. When I got out I was still sort of hopped up on benzos, so the not drinking was (relatively?) easy compared to today. Took the next two weeks to start a IOP and attend every drinking related meeting I could go to. AA. LifeRing, etc. Whatever keeps me sober. The going back to work tomorrow has me stressed. Only HR knows why I was out. Have a lot of anxiety and fear about what to say, what to do, etc. with boss, with peers, with folks that report to me. Man, I'd like a drink.
2. This is the nuts part. To complete the IOP on schedule I need to be sober for 30 days. They tell me these need to be consecutive days. Go figure. The completion date is Nov 22. So my overly clever drunk brain is telling me I should go have a drink before Tuesday. And hell, that's not even the point of the IOP. It's to stay sober for a life time. How's that for nuts?
My problem was I had not dealt with the obsession. I still thought in my alcoholic way that life came out of a bottle, and that was the best way to feel good. trying to get back to the good old days when booze was fun. You get the idea that being sober was no fun for me?
The only cure for that for me was the 12 steps of AA. When I started on those the obsession was lifted, the whole problem was removed.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 146
NotdoingFine, (I think you are DoingFine! I am a proponant of names that uplift!)
I know what you are going thru with stressing over returning to work. I had a helluva time with that. I checked myself into outpatient treatment and kept going to work as if nothing was wrong. I couldn't do that for long. My emotions were bubbling out in tears every day! I just could not control them. I told my supervisor. That wasn't enough to feel ok. I ended up telling everyone in the company that I had regular contact with, not to gain sympathy, but to explain my irrational and emotional behavior!
I am not trying to scare you with this, but you may experience similar feelings, it is better to be prepared if that happens. I went to group everyday after work and told them I felt like co-workers weren't supportive. I left out the crying part and the fact I was not allowing anyone to "be inside the loop" and no one knew anything except I was acting emotionally unstable!
In the end, I needed to leave my job because it wasn't good for me to live alone, and work alone, while my husband lived 100 miles away! I thought I could keep that up "forever" If you are doing a 12 step program, they say it is a program of honesty. I had to do just that, or I felt like I was being dishonest and trying to hide it was really bad for me.(I worked pretty closely with about a dozen of these co-workers for 5 years)
I did NOT however, turn to a drink. I know I have at least one relapse in me, but I may never have another chance at recovery.
If at the end of the day, you lay your head on your pillow without having taken a drink, you have done your job. Make every day as simple as that as long as you need to.
Treat yourself as you would treat a very sick and very dear friend. With compassion, understanding, love, and patience. If you were helping someone else through this time you would not even question that. Be kind to yourself.
"
When you go to meetings, bring it up what is stressing you. You will get personal feedback on what others have done, suggestions on how to handle it, a sponsor?
Meetings for me kept me sober, and helped me stay sober, and accept my condition as a DISEASE, not a moral deficiency.
Take it one day at a time.
I know what you are going thru with stressing over returning to work. I had a helluva time with that. I checked myself into outpatient treatment and kept going to work as if nothing was wrong. I couldn't do that for long. My emotions were bubbling out in tears every day! I just could not control them. I told my supervisor. That wasn't enough to feel ok. I ended up telling everyone in the company that I had regular contact with, not to gain sympathy, but to explain my irrational and emotional behavior!
I am not trying to scare you with this, but you may experience similar feelings, it is better to be prepared if that happens. I went to group everyday after work and told them I felt like co-workers weren't supportive. I left out the crying part and the fact I was not allowing anyone to "be inside the loop" and no one knew anything except I was acting emotionally unstable!
In the end, I needed to leave my job because it wasn't good for me to live alone, and work alone, while my husband lived 100 miles away! I thought I could keep that up "forever" If you are doing a 12 step program, they say it is a program of honesty. I had to do just that, or I felt like I was being dishonest and trying to hide it was really bad for me.(I worked pretty closely with about a dozen of these co-workers for 5 years)
I did NOT however, turn to a drink. I know I have at least one relapse in me, but I may never have another chance at recovery.
If at the end of the day, you lay your head on your pillow without having taken a drink, you have done your job. Make every day as simple as that as long as you need to.
Treat yourself as you would treat a very sick and very dear friend. With compassion, understanding, love, and patience. If you were helping someone else through this time you would not even question that. Be kind to yourself.
"
Alcoholism (addiction) makes you forget things you should remember, and remember things you should forget
"
When you go to meetings, bring it up what is stressing you. You will get personal feedback on what others have done, suggestions on how to handle it, a sponsor?
Meetings for me kept me sober, and helped me stay sober, and accept my condition as a DISEASE, not a moral deficiency.
Take it one day at a time.
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