justinJustQuit

So, now that I'm out of the hardest part of my detox, I'm looking at ways to achieve long term sobriety. I know staying away from alcohol is the most important at first, but mentally, what do you think about when you get a craving?

How do you say no to it? Sorry for blowing up the forum, but I'm bored and have insomnia for a while.

reflection

Congrats on getting through your detox!

When I get a craving, I say "no" by thinking about all the stupid things I did and ways I acted when drunk. I guess it's a bit of self-shaming mixed with brutal reality. It also helps to remind myself why I was drinking (social, covering up feelings, etc ) and that the craving will pass. When it's really bad, I clean or do something that takes my mind off of things (trying to make that "thing" exercise). Coming here and reading through the posts helps too. I hope you find your things very soon!

ACT10Npack

Its really hard to know what will work for you personally but have different triggers some things go stay away from, bars, old drinking buddies, keeping alcohol away from home and changing habits like keeping your place clean, get on a regular route, aka going to work on time and going to bed on time. Changing your diet to a healthier one and try to moderate your life style. Dont want to change one addiction to an other.

Good luck

justinJustQuit

I changed jobs because a bunch of people on my team are home brewers and insist i try it. So i'm not beyond removing obstacles. After detox I'll worry about sleep. I have insomnia for a few days after quitting.

Inca

Notice when you get cravings and then replace the craving with something else. Anything else that's healthy and that you enjoy. After awhile you will automatically go to the "new" activity instead of thinking about drinking. Read "The Power of Habit". Great book that gives many suggestions on how to replace bad habits with good ones. Basically rewiring your brain....also going to meetings and getting a sponsor is very helpful.

AlwaysGrowing

Candy..... After sometime I really don't have those cravings. I stay away from bars, ditched or have limited contact with other people who use alcohol beyond a drink at dinner when out with friends.

Dee74

There are some great tips here Justin:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html

but basically what changed it for me was a willingness to sit with my cravings and to learn that I didn't have to give into them.

It's unconformable for a while but not excruciating. Check out urge surfing in that link.

D

Twinings

I think 2 very important factors in beating cravings are changing behaviours and nutrition.

For some who don't change behaviours, they can find themselves bored... without drink, sitting every evening not doing much can lead to picking up. A new routine can help you fill the time with meaningful activities. It also doesn't give you time to pick up. I even have a drink routine of different herbal tea and water so there's not time to get thirsty and less time to get cravings.

There are also some interesting studies around about the importance of nutrition and how most treatment centres are missing this key component to sobriety. One of the best things you could do is tackle your (inevitable) sugar addiction/cravings and read up on the connection between the two and relapse. Prob best to see a doc before any drastic diet changes tho.

As far as what to think about when cravings happen, I recognise the craving and replace it with something else (usually a piece of fruit as the natural sweetness helps). Psychologically this should then lead to your cravings turning into cravings for your new habit.

Congrats on making it through detox.

justinJustQuit

Twinings, sugar HURTS your sobriety? That's surprising. I did notice during my last stint at sobriety that I craved sugar A LOT. I have been talking to doctor and she said I was clear to change whatever in my diet as long as the fat and salt was decreased. haha.

Dee74

I'm firmly in the sugar helps camp. It certainly helped me? .



D

mecanix

i think enduring the cravings is one part of it , also then learning new ways of dealing with stress and anxiety and then also using of some foresight to not get yourself into situations where you have to "make the call" more than you absolutely have to .

Learning to accept my life just as it is now, be grateful for it . Then to love and live ones life as best as possible, coming here to SR everyday to remind myself how life with active drinking is and maybe try to motivate and encourage people .

That is pretty much my recovery plan in a nutshell , it has a lot to do with attitude and perspective and keeps drinking firmly and resolutely off the table as an option .

Bestwishes, m

Twinings

Yes, in my opinion, refined sugar is not good, for a few reasons.

Imabuleva

Refined sugar is terrible for your health. But digging into a bowl of ice cream in a pinch is far better than picking up what I can only refer to not so lovingly as, "The Satan."

malcolmsloan

Something else to throw out there: for me, the worst thing I can do if craving hits, is to do nothing, to lock up, so to speak, sitting, not moving, getting paralyzed by it. For me it helps to do something, anything, even go for a drive, crank your favorite tunes. Take a walk around the block (it it's not too cold), but for me, experiencing movement also gets my mind moving--pas the craving.

DG0409

I found the sugar cravings came from low blood sugar and a healthy snack and glass of water cured them every time. I also found they quickly disappeared entirely.

As to long term sobriety, I made a post at 6 months on the things I did to get that far: http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...along-way.html

I'm at almost 9 months now, but I've been sticking with the same strategies.

TheFist

cravings is a tough one for myself...... usually hits around the time that works is over, when habitually it's always been beer o'clock. not even a cracked skull in '10 and a resulting two week stint in the local hospital has removed that from the mental slate.

worst cravings usually last only 1-2 hours and just before dinner - I have been taking notes these last few days about how others deal with them. For myself usually eating helps, also making a mental list of the things I want to accomplish the next morning (such as working out), this as I know how much more difficult (or impossible) these things are if I succumb to the beers.......

Hang in there Justin

FeelingGreat

I structured the part of the day when the cravings hit so that I avoided the usual routine (triggers). I had a glass of fresh squeezed juice from a juice bar after work. My no-fail technique for strong cravings was to take 5 deep mindful breaths. I'm not 100% sure how it worked, but it did.

KateL

A snack always got me out of trouble, even mid binge. It can always be something healthy like celery and dips x

Joe Nerv

Early in sobriety an ice cream sunday here and there helped with my urges to drink. Not too long after that however I found out how sugar was affecting my sobriety. I agree 100% with what twinnings said. Nutrition is far more important than people seem to believe it is.

I'm starting to feel like a broken record here, but my story is my story... I sufferend from really bad depression, anxiety, and panic. At the time I got sober pharmaceutical companies weren't advertising antidepressants on TV, and doctors weren't doling them out to everyone who said they felt depressed or had anxiety/panic issues. Had they offered them to me, I'd have taken them in a heartbeat, but I was forced to find other means of dealing with my issues. Had I continued eating sugar, not found a program for my recovery, and not changed a whole lot of other things in my life I'm certain I'd be drunk, dead, or dependent on some sort of medication. Sugar played a much bigger part in things than I thought it did or could, also.

Sugar can be helpful for dealing with cravings if done once in a while. To make a habit of it (IMO any more than once or twice a week), is adding fuel to the fire. A much better thing to do would be to start developing healthy habits, and learn to accept and deal with the urges. If you're working on yourself to become healthier, they WILL go away. Great book full of tips on dealing with urges in early sobriety is the book Living Sober. I highly recommend it. Can be picked up for pennies on amazon.