If you have decided to remain abstinent or cut down your drinking through controlling it or reducing it,you may experience cravings or strong urges to drinking or to drink heavily,cravings is most often experienced early in change,but some may find the episodes of cravings may persist for week, months,sometimes even years after stopping drinking,Cravings may be uncomfortable but is a very common experience and does not mean something is wrong.You should expect cravings to occur from time to time and be prepared to cope with it if and when it occurs.Urges to drink or cravings can be triggered by things you see in the environment that remind you of alcohol,physical signs may include tightning in your stomach or feeling nervous throughout your body,Psychological signs may include increased thoughts of how good you would like to feel from using alcohol or drugs, remembering times you used alcohol is the past,planing how you would go about getting a drink or feeling you need alcohol,An extremely important point to remember is that craving & urges are time limited,that is they usually last only a few minutes & at most a few hours,rather than increasing until they become unbearable,they usually peak after a few minutes and die down,like a wave urges will become Les frequent & less intense as you learn how to cope with them,common triggers include seeing other people drinking,contact with people,places,times of day,and situations commonly associated with drinking,drinking buddies,bars,parties, getting home from work,weekends,particular types of emotion such as elation,excitement,feelings of accomplishment can all be triggers,physical feelings,sick,shaky,tence,The easiest way to deal with cravings & urges is to try and avoid them in the first place,This can be done by getting rid of all alcohol in the house,not going to parties or bars & reducing contact with friends who drink & so on,This is no always possible and not a long term strategy,sometimes cravings cannot be avoided and it is necessary to find a way to cope with it,get involved in some distracting activity,talk it through,talk to friends or family members about cravings when it occurs,another effective response to craving is eating.talking about cravings often helps to discharge & relieve the feeling and will help restore honesty in your relationship,remember craving is nothing to feel bad about you can use forums to talk through your cravings & get support from others in our communities,others have gone through it before you and your experience may help others,so share it onlineurges are like ocean waves they are small when they start,grow in side & then break up & dissipate,when experiencing craving many people have a tendency to remember only the positive effects of drinking & often forget the negative consequences,so challenge and change your thoughts this way you can remind yourself that you really wont feel better after just the one,sometimes its helpful to write or print benefits and consequences on a card that you can carry or keep,even though you have made up your mind to be sober your body will take a while to learn this
NOTHING IS AS SIMPLE AS WE HOPE IT WOULD BE
some of this was copied from 247helpyourself.com
NOTHING IS AS SIMPLE AS WE HOPE IT WOULD BE
some of this was copied from 247helpyourself.com
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