Cravings ; mental or physical

[damo180]

Quit the cigs 8 yrs ago using allen carr method , he says after 5 days the nicotine is out of your system which is what you will crave , but its slight...... Tried his method with al but didnt have the same effect.
When i packed in cigs , after a short while I was confident i would never smoke again.
Feeling good now about being af but quite anxious that i have relapsed so many times after reasonable af time.
Anyone else have similar thoughts ? :thanks:

[YouKayBee]

Cravings ; mental or physical

damo180;1551282 wrote: Quit the cigs 8 yrs ago using allen carr method , he says after 5 days the nicotine is out of your system which is what you will crave , but its slight...... Tried his method with al but didnt have the same effect.
When i packed in cigs , after a short while I was confident i would never smoke again.
Feeling good now about being af but quite anxious that i have relapsed so many times after reasonable af time.
Anyone else have similar thoughts ? :thanks:

In my opinion Allen Carr's methods are good with tobacco, and heavy drinkers for alcohol, ineffective but interesting for alcoholics. It does help you realise drinking the stuff really isn't normal, nor beneficial but it's not enough to solve the problem.

I also believe it takes 6-12 months or even longer AF for the cravings to subside, even then they can emerge again every so often.

[broken halo]

Cravings ; mental or physical

I wish I knew the answer Damo. I quit the ciggies and the booze at the same time. As far as the nicotine goes, I get the odd urge but I am confident enough that if you put a fag and a lighter in front of me I could walk away from it. Not so sure if I was left alone in a room with a glass of wine though.

As far as I have read and tried to understand, cravings have to be recognised and dealt with. I have been reading a site called Rethinking Drinking

You have a lot of AL free time in the past, well done for that. I know you are saying you eventually lapsed, but how did you handle the cravings when you were AL free for those lengths of times? Long may your AF time continue, I wish I could be of more help but I am still floundering along myself right now

[damo180]

Cravings ; mental or physical

Thanks uk and bh . I sailed through a few early quits but cravings this time gave been a lot tougher. I agree it could be a year before it completely eases.
Not that its tough all the time. I see so many benefits of being sober. I plan to keep going , and i have so much info and tips thanks to mwo to help me through the difficult times.
I will have a look at that site rethinking drinking.
Thanks
Damo x

[FlyAway]

Cravings ; mental or physical

I think that the vast majority of addiction is psychological. And I agree with UKBlonde about it taking a long time for cravings to subside. I had strong cravings at 4 months and again at 10 months. I haven't had any since then, but I won't let down my guard ever.

[damo180]

Cravings ; mental or physical

Thanks Molly and flyaway for all the advice , its appreciated.
Told the mrs i want to have a real go at quitting again , not just "taking a break for a bit".
Have accepted I may never have a "rock bottom" as such , just a constant shite feeling which seems to worsen every time i drink.
Hopefully i ll finally kick it this time .

Goodnight all and thanks again

Damo

[lizker]

Cravings ; mental or physical

I would say both. The body is deficient in everything for most alkies which manifests in terms of cravings.
If you feed the body right, you still have to deal with the psychological dependence which by far is the hardest thing to do in my experience.