3 Basic Ways to Deal with Cravings
There's no way around it. If you're giving up alcohol you're bound to have cravings sometimes. You know, those itchy moments where your body craves a drink but your mind knows you're trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Here are a few thoughts on how to handle cravings.
Surfing, triggers + blood sugar
Surf the urge🏄♀️
Urges (or cravings) rarely last longer than 30 minutes. Urge surfing is a technique used to avoid acting on a behavior you want to stop (like drinking!). Think of the urge as a wave. It starts small, grows in size until it peaks, and then breaks and dissipates. You can ride this wave by using your breath as a surfboard until the urge passes. Focus on your breath and the feelings in your body. Stay present and ride the wave 🌊 You can't stop urges/cravings from happening but you CAN learn to ride them out. The more you practice, the easier it becomes. So if you experience an urge to drink set a timer ⏲ and start surfing!
Recognize your triggers
A craving to drink can be set off by an external or internal trigger. External triggers are people, places, things, or times of day that remind you of drinking. They're more obvious, predictable, and avoidable than internal triggers. Internal triggers are the ones that seem to just “pop up”. They can be set off by a positive emotion (relief, excitement), a negative emotion (sadness, frustration), or a physical sensation (tension, nervousness). If you can figure out what triggers your cravings you can figure out ways to avoid or control them 💪
Balance your blood sugar 🍗🥦🥜
You can reduce cravings by balancing your blood sugar with regular meals that include protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Alcohol contains a lot of sugar and cutting it out can cause sugar cravings (for alcohol!). To avoid getting into a low blood sugar state that could cause a craving, eat regularly to keep that blood sugar stable. That being said, I ate ice cream every night for 6 months when I first stopped drinking🍨 😮 It takes what it takes.
How do you deal with cravings?
