cravings
Blue Belt
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Soberville, USA
Posts: 4,174
cravings
134 days clean....
Haven't had strong cravings since the.first couple of weeks.
My anxiety is deminishing.
Based on the experience of.some.high time sober folks here...what are the chances the cravings will get.worse than now...which is next to nothing....
It feels amazing waking up so clean...
I expect to be hung over...then I remember...I don't drink....
One gal at an AA meeting said she was good to.go...no cravings...had it licked...then one day....pulled onto.a cheap motel...w a few liters..
They found here 3 days later...
N e way...my question...is it good to not crave?
Do alcoholics crave more....?
Haven't had strong cravings since the.first couple of weeks.
My anxiety is deminishing.
Based on the experience of.some.high time sober folks here...what are the chances the cravings will get.worse than now...which is next to nothing....
It feels amazing waking up so clean...
I expect to be hung over...then I remember...I don't drink....
One gal at an AA meeting said she was good to.go...no cravings...had it licked...then one day....pulled onto.a cheap motel...w a few liters..
They found here 3 days later...
N e way...my question...is it good to not crave?
Do alcoholics crave more....?
I could see peace instead of this
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Canada, eh
Posts: 2,360
Cravings can come up seemingly out of the blue, so it helps to be aware and not overly confident.
When I was in AA before this relapse, I never felt that I had it licked; I knew my sobriety depended on how well I tended to my program of recovery. I got to the point where I no longer had any cravings, just passing thoughts which were easy to dismiss. When a crisis occurred in my life, I would sometimes think of drinking to deal with it, but it just didn't seem like an attractive option that I even wanted to pursue anymore.
When I was in AA before this relapse, I never felt that I had it licked; I knew my sobriety depended on how well I tended to my program of recovery. I got to the point where I no longer had any cravings, just passing thoughts which were easy to dismiss. When a crisis occurred in my life, I would sometimes think of drinking to deal with it, but it just didn't seem like an attractive option that I even wanted to pursue anymore.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,442
After the initial month I never got those physical cravings again d122y...but those crazy thoughts rationalizing drinking again took a lot longer to go away completely.
As long as you're ready for them, you'll be fine
D
As long as you're ready for them, you'll be fine
D
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
You will probably get some cravings for a short while at some point. BUT - if you keep working on your recovery, and do your step work, and use your sponsor to talk to whenever you need to, then you will have all the tools on your belt to not react to them.
My best AA buddy had this a month or so ago. She was devastated and felt like failure because she'd had cravings. She had gone as far as driving to the supermarket, but called our sponsor from there, and was 'talked down' from it by her. I told her that's WHY we do this work. So that when a craving is triggered by unavoidable life events, we can do what we need to in order to get past that moment without picking up.
At 18 months I got a massive craving. I'd been to do a share at a recovery centre. All the people there were new in, and embarking on Step One. The whole room felt full of rawness. The share itself went okay, but I think I took on a lot of that pain and anxiety, because as I got back in the car I had the biggest craving. Talk about irony!! Anyway. I sent my friend and sponsor a text so I knew one of them would get back to me by the time I'd driven home, and prayed and asked God to remove the anxiety from me, (and from the others in the centre). On the way back I listened to Sandy Beach (AA speaker) talk about fear on my MP3 player. When I got back I came onto SR. Before bed I took inventory of the day, including gratitudes. I still felt a little 'jangley' the next morning so got myself to a lunchtime AA meeting pronto, and shared on it all. I got some great advice (that I had heard before; but sometimes we need to hear it again) and felt back to my sober self.
So. My tools against that craving were: Contacting Sponsor; Contacting AA friend; Listening to one of a variety of speaker recordings downloaded on MP3 player; Prayer; Sober Recovery Forum; Step 10 inventory (and realised I should have taken advise from my sponsor to NOT do that share a few weeks beforehand seriously) : Gratitude list; Meeting.
You are collecting many tools in your recovery box in readiness for when you need them.
My best AA buddy had this a month or so ago. She was devastated and felt like failure because she'd had cravings. She had gone as far as driving to the supermarket, but called our sponsor from there, and was 'talked down' from it by her. I told her that's WHY we do this work. So that when a craving is triggered by unavoidable life events, we can do what we need to in order to get past that moment without picking up.
At 18 months I got a massive craving. I'd been to do a share at a recovery centre. All the people there were new in, and embarking on Step One. The whole room felt full of rawness. The share itself went okay, but I think I took on a lot of that pain and anxiety, because as I got back in the car I had the biggest craving. Talk about irony!! Anyway. I sent my friend and sponsor a text so I knew one of them would get back to me by the time I'd driven home, and prayed and asked God to remove the anxiety from me, (and from the others in the centre). On the way back I listened to Sandy Beach (AA speaker) talk about fear on my MP3 player. When I got back I came onto SR. Before bed I took inventory of the day, including gratitudes. I still felt a little 'jangley' the next morning so got myself to a lunchtime AA meeting pronto, and shared on it all. I got some great advice (that I had heard before; but sometimes we need to hear it again) and felt back to my sober self.
So. My tools against that craving were: Contacting Sponsor; Contacting AA friend; Listening to one of a variety of speaker recordings downloaded on MP3 player; Prayer; Sober Recovery Forum; Step 10 inventory (and realised I should have taken advise from my sponsor to NOT do that share a few weeks beforehand seriously) : Gratitude list; Meeting.
You are collecting many tools in your recovery box in readiness for when you need them.
Do your best
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 67,047
aka Nesty
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Northern Vt.
Posts: 1,554
I could be wrong in my thinking , but make me wonder if your AA gal was in denial or possibly want to make it seem like she had a handle on the cravings ?
I guess no one will really know . Sorry that you had to lose a member in that way ,, very sad .
As for me it took a good year , but alcohol is all around me with friends & relatives . Just last month with a little over 2 years sober , one hit me hard . Due to the thought of having to put down my old dog . With the help of my SR friends they pulled me though & helped me make a plan .. when the time comes . Other then that I was pretty much over any sort of cravings ( that I know of )
Being prepared with a plan . I think is the Key
I guess no one will really know . Sorry that you had to lose a member in that way ,, very sad .
As for me it took a good year , but alcohol is all around me with friends & relatives . Just last month with a little over 2 years sober , one hit me hard . Due to the thought of having to put down my old dog . With the help of my SR friends they pulled me though & helped me make a plan .. when the time comes . Other then that I was pretty much over any sort of cravings ( that I know of )
Being prepared with a plan . I think is the Key
Sober since 10th April 2012
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 6,047
D, cravings will decline as time goes by but they're not the whole story. Your AV will pop up from time to time and it can be persuasive.
Without knowing you, I'd say the biggest danger is over-confidence. Maybe thinking you can handle it, or deserve a reward. It might be in response to stress, but also a happy event.
I found it helpful to make sure my timeline was extended out a long way.
Without knowing you, I'd say the biggest danger is over-confidence. Maybe thinking you can handle it, or deserve a reward. It might be in response to stress, but also a happy event.
I found it helpful to make sure my timeline was extended out a long way.
Blue Belt
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Soberville, USA
Posts: 4,174
Originally Posted by NestWasEmpty 
Sorry that you had to lose a member in that way ,, very sad ....
Being prepared with a plan . I think is the Key
Being prepared with a plan . I think is the Key
We didn't lose the girl...her family tracked her down by her credit card purchases...they found her passed out in the hotel...
She shared this story during a group session...
Blue Belt
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Soberville, USA
Posts: 4,174
Originally Posted by FeelingGreat
.. they're not the whole story. Your AV will pop up....
Without knowing you, I'd say the biggest danger is over-confidence.
Maybe thinking you can handle it, or deserve a reward. It might be in response to stress, but also a happy event.
I found it helpful to make sure my timeline was extended out a long way.
Without knowing you, I'd say the biggest danger is over-confidence.
Maybe thinking you can handle it, or deserve a reward. It might be in response to stress, but also a happy event.
I found it helpful to make sure my timeline was extended out a long way.
. .. i am having pangs of....ooooh. ..a cold beer would hit the spot...
I've learned here that remembering the horrible anxiety and feelings of weakness will fade...it is then that I must have a time line. .a plan...a tool box...posting....Sponser. ..step work...to keep my body alcohol free forever...
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