smn111186

id like to hear some personal ideas of how people deal with cravings. today i have 14 months sober and life has drastically improved but yet i still get the urge to just get wasted i have no desire to just have one or two drinks, to me that is just a tease. so when cravings do come into my mind i think back to the last time i was drunk and realize how bad it was. please share your what your coping tools are,

thanks

Steve

SweatyHands

Talking with someone else who is also in recovery always helps me. Some people have very strong opinions about whether or not it is healthy or helpful to trade old drinking horror stories, but I find that sharing those stories keeps me from repressing that part of my life. If I were to hold onto those memories and deny them, I feel like I may begin to romanticize those habits and find them irresistible. In fact, that's exactly what led to my relapse over the last few months.

dcg

Just realizing that you're not interested in having a drink or two should help a lot. Seems to be common that people who used to get wasted daily somehow think they'll be able to become moderate drinkers and give it a go. Occam's razor suggests that if this were possible, then they wouldn't have become people who got wasted daily in the first place.

chrcarlson

Try reading some of your earlier posts.

I haven't been sober very long. I'm told that the cravings can be caused by unresolved issues. Basically the reasons you drank too much in the first place. If you can figure out the issues and deal with them in a healthy way the cravings greatly reduce.

MyTime86

Just understand that you're still in early stages and although things have got drastically better, you still have much to learn.
I drank over ten years. So my year and a half sober still doesn't match that. It's ok though I have the tools now to continue and so do you

MaidenNZ

Sugar and or AVRT

Dee74

This is a great list of tips and techniques folks have used here to deal with cravings:

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

I particularly recommend playing the tape though and urge surfing.

D

least

Congrats on 14 months! When I used to get cravings I'd walk my dogs instead of drinking. The dogs got a lot of walks and I stayed sober.

FarToGo

Reading posts on here from people who have relapsed, they invariably feel full of regret and pretty often rubbish about the relapse. Not a good place to go - works for me so far.
Something physical often helps, dog walk, clean the house, go to the gym.....
Never get thirsty, lots of water, tea, squash... whatever.
stay well.
xx

FeelingGreat

I always check how I'm feeling in other ways...lonely, hungry, stressed, thirsty, because I was used to coping with alcohol. Often fixing the need takes away the urge. However this late in your recovery it may be deeper. Getting blind drunk sounds like wanting to lose yourself for a while.

I firmly turn my thoughts away, take deep breaths to relax, have a soft drink or a cup of tea. Underneath it all is my determination not to drink.

Soberwolf

Congrats on 14 months there is urge surfing

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html