NEED tips for cravings...
 

Hi guys...my cravings have been FIERCE! I need tips on how to get thru them. I may have posted this before but am asking again. (Sorry).

Thx!

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

the main thing to remember is cravings will pass...it's not pleasant to sit with them, but it's doable :)
and remember HALT - have you eaten lately?

D

Do anything that will distract you, Serenidad, even for just a few minutes.

Yes I are Dee. Thx for the link! I just hope they start getting a little easier soon! I woke the BEAST when I relapsed. :-(

Eating worked very well for me. I did not do the sweets/icecream diet though that many like in the early days, but normal meals and snacks that I enjoy.

Other than food, engaging activities, preferentially involving something physical like walking or running. I also posted about my cravings here on SR like you... or sometimes talked about them with specific people I via PMs.

For me the active distraction was important, don't think I would have lasted long simply just sitting though the monster cravings I had in the beginning, observing them.

Try to have a decent meal, Serenidad, if you are craving alcohol in the moment, see if it helps?

*ate

Good luck D's link is awesome use it very helpful

Spk soon serenidad

Ice cream was very helpful to me. Often, it only took a spoonful or two. Hang in there!!!

I eat something, then go for a walk but leave my wallet behind.

For me the best thing was talking to close friends. I had been told that this was bad recovery because it made my recovery dependent on other people.

But it was the thing that set me on a good path. So I highly recommend it.

I do tea, flavored seltzer waters, pure fruit smoothies, and if all else fails, get out of the house and do something I won't drink at (watch a movie at the movie theatre, wander the aisles at the supermarket (not the alcohol aisle), or some other store). If I was still struggling, I would go to bed.

Eating something, hot herbal tea, fancy seltzer and a good book!

Walking, any sort of exercising can help. Cleaning, sorting, decluttering... it always feels good to straighten things up and get rid of the old. For me, it felt like I was mirroring or manifesting outwardly what was going on inwardly. And if you feel stuck mentally/emotionally or sort of hijacked by cravings, the exercise can give you a sense of overcoming something due to the energy expenditure. So it can help you emotionally feel more free or unencumbered.

Special drink, flavored sparking water, going to sleep, calling a friend, going to a meeting, reading the bb, pampering yourself by taking a long hot shower or bath. You can get through this, it WILL subside!

Bacon.

Two things worked for me.
Keep the belly full
And a long, hot shower!
Dunno what the shower does but it takes my mind off drinking. Maybe it's the relaxing part of the shower.

I targeted the danger times (when I left work, just as I arrived home) and put substitute food and walks in place to divert myself.

I also found taking 5 deep breaths, concentrating on my body, helped enormously. None of my cravings survived me doing this.

Curb cravings
 

Jolly ranchers, fresh carrot juice if you can get it.

I drank LOTS of water with lemon and lime juice in it. I shouted at my AV, "No No, No !!"

Hot baths, books, a complete change of routine.

There is a lot of truth in SoberJennie's comment about reflections -first day I got sober, I bought a new bed, new pyjamas, a new duvet, the lot. New, lovely comfy bed = new me, sober sleeping.

I played games, watched movies, read books, chewed things, knitted, took long walks, visited friends, shopped, posted here, read here. I stayed very close to this board at all times.

Sweet food, as mentioned above, worked for me, but any food was good. I'm still eating more at night, but I get something yummy as something to look forward to. I can sort my weight out later. it's kind of cool to have license to stuff my face for once.

I prayed, too, not to God but to "whatever is out there", to help me through.

Hope some of this is helpful, hun x