How do you deal with cravings?
 

I find the hardest part for me is late at night a couple hours before going to bed I really want that "buzz." I've told myself numerous times the next day that I wouldn't drink the following night, but 9/10 times I still do and that's more or less been the pattern for the past year or so and I don't know that I'm an "alcoholic", but I clearly have issues with drinking or binge drinking.

Also, when I drink, it's usually never just a couple, it's always to the point I'm drunk or have a heavy buzz. For example, I've told myself the past 3 nights I wouldn't drink, but yet I still drank 6+ shots of liqueur an hour or 2 before going to bed....more so than drinking, I really want to stop because I value my health and I know drinking like that is destructive on my liver...but I just have such a hard time stopping and craving it.

Thanks.

Hello, petiot. Welcome to SR! :wavey:

To deal with cravings, I do something else to take my mind off of it. Usually I go to SR and read and post.

Yes, drinking can be destructive to your liver....but also to your heart, esophagus, pancreas, brain, and kidneys (to name a few). I don't say this to scare you...I myself didn't know what organs alcohol could damage until I found SR.

In my opinion, this is a great site to help with becoming and remaining sober. I hope you stick around for a while and keep reading and posting.

When you do quit, please be careful. Detoxing can be dangerous for some. If you haven't already checked it out, here is a link to a thread where people have posted their experiences with quitting: http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

Hi Petiot, and welcome to SR! Thank you for posting and sharing a bit about yourself. I think you'll find that many of us have stories or situations that you can relate to quite a bit, and many of us will be able to relate to YOU as well.

As for the cravings, there are several things you can do. For starters, you can change up your routine. If you usually drink at home a couple of hours before bed, do something else at that time of night. Watch a movie, go shopping, go to the gym, something to break the routine and occupy your mind.

Time your cravings and see how long they last. I believe it was Carol who said hers averaged 5 - 7 minutes. Seems like an eternity at the time, I know, but when you think about it, that's really not that long. SURELY you can find something to help you through 7 minutes! :)

Having a problem with alcohol isn't necessarily defined by how much you drink, but by how what you drink affects you. If you are repeatedly making promises to yourself that you won't drink and then giving in at the end of the day anyway, I'd say that's a pretty sure sign that you're losing control. I know that was one of the things that worried me about my own drinking. Also, if you start and then can't stop, that's another sign that the alcohol has more power over you than you do over it.

Find something else to drink instead of alcohol. In this cold weather, maybe have some hot chocolate? Sipping something sugary sometimes helps, too (flavored waters, ginger ale, etc.).

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing more of your posts.

thank you for the advice and replies...i will give it a shot

well, I went 3 days without drinking this week (mon-wed), but last night when I was out I bought some alcohol and then spent the night drinking and woke up this morning feeling bad, physically and mentally. I noticed that if I don't have some form of alcohol at the house, ready to drink, I feel like something is missing and I think about it all night.

getting post count to 5..please ignore

getting post count to 5..please ignore...

Hi petiot. I heard that cravings only last for 7 minutes and then they will pass. But sometimes they come one minute apart, and that is a bit exhausting!

But you can hold on for 7 minutes at a time, right?