Carrly

First I only drink alcohol once a week or less .But I have read on the internet that some people get alcohol craving .What does the alcohol craving feel like and how bad can it get ?

If you in school or work and get alcohol craving what does it feel like? Is it the thoughts I want to drink where it makes you uncomfortable to you drink ? And hard time getting through the day to do thoughts of drinking alcohol and uncomfortable feeling ?

Can you get alcohol craving drinking alcohol 2 or 3 times a week? Or do you have to drink alcohol 3 or 4 times a week to get alcohol craving ?

eJoshua

It depends on the individual. I never really thought of my desire to drink as a craving. Drinking was completely natural to me, so trying to quit was like trying not to breath. It's not so much that I craved alcohol, but that I didn't know how to live without it.

Now I'm sober 12 months and my thinking has flip flopped: I can't imagine how I managed to live that way as long as I did.

Dee74

Hi Carly - welcome

I think the simplest way to explain it is that a craving can be physical - like a hunger for something...or a mental obsession where you can't stop thinking about something.

Do you ever drink and think you'd like more? Or drink when you know you shouldn't? or think about drinking when you're not?

D

lillyknitting

For me the idea of the whole social aspect of alcohol, not a physical craving as such. The thought of meeting up with friends, socialising in a particular venue etc used to thrill me. My mind would fantasise the whole thing before i had even got there, for example i would imagine this whole scenario in my mind hours or even days before it happened, so by the time the event was near i was totally excited about it all. Of course i realise now this is the "beast", "ism"' whatever you want to call it. All total fantasy about the alcohol drummed up in my brain.

Gottalife

For alcoholics of my type, the phenomenon of craving kicks in after the first drink, not before, and I have absolutely no control of my alcohol intake from that point on. It has been described as an allergy in the AA book and modern science has also come up with an explanation along the lines of us having a different metabolism. Whatever the cause, this phenomenon only occurs in alcoholics.

hypochondriac

A craving just means you want something.

For me a 'craving' is a conditioned response.

I would use every emotion as an excuse to drink. If someone was mean to me I'd drink, if something really fantastic happened I'd drink to 'celebrate', if I was upset I'd drink to 'drown my sorrows'. If this happened at work I would obsess about getting home so I could drink. Not an uncomfortable feeling, just impatient.

Habit could also class as craving. Many years ago I only drank every Friday night and the one time something upset this routine, I was not a happy bunny. I suppose how often you crave alcohol just depends on how often you normally drink/drank it.

Now I don't drink the 'cravings' are getting less and less with every day that passes

Welcome to SR Carrly x

Emma18

For me it's just sometimes I feel a need/want to drink or use, which leads to my planning for when and where I can do it. Certain times of the day are worst for craving, which are generally the times where you drank the most.

I guess a way of describing it for myself is like you feel unsatisfied for a period of time while you're craving, and it seems that only by giving in to it will you feel satisfied. If you hold off long enough though you achieve the same thing.

Carrly

sorry for not getting back to you but some thing came up.

What I mean by craving is when you drinking it feels good and so your brain thinks about this now and than when you not drinking .

Or you feel uncomfortable and hard to concentrate and do you school work do to cravings.

hypochondriac

Either of them would class as a craving I guess.

Are you still drinking Carrly? Do you want to stop?

ChasingJme03

I dont know if I get cravings but I have been in the habit of taking a few shots in the morning to ward off a hangover which leads to day drinking. Same thing, different day. I get HORRIBLE hangovers so I ward them off with the only thing that is a quick fix. Also, I have anxiety and self-medicated that for years. Funny now how I think that the alcohol caused the anxiety.

HarleyDaddy

I'm almost 2 weeks sober. I have yet to have a "craving" to drink either. And I was putting down a fifth a night before I put an end to it. Now occasionally I'll think, "Boy I could go for a jack and coke. Oh wait, I don't do that anymore..." And it passes as quickly as it came. I don't get salivating thirst-like cravings, or obsessive thoughts. No idea why, just don't. Guess I should be happy and shut up about it

Carrly

I know some people who say thay can't wait to go out drinking .

sorta of sounds like craving.

I know some other people that drink 3 times a week.


I will not drink more than once a week now do to I know some people that do have drinking problem and do it 2 times a day.