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Jan 31, 2017 · Coping With Urges. 31 Jan 2017. By Randy Lindel, Facilitator, SMART Recovery® Boston. Read on for five (5) practical ideas on how to cope with urges and cravings after you have decided to abstain from drugs and alcohol. Cravings are normal.
- Keeping Track. Here are some good reasons to keep track of your urges: Keeping track can help you identify your “triggers” to drinking. Keeping track can help you realize that they aren’t always there or getting worse.
- Avoid Triggers. This can be a helpful strategy early in your efforts to change your drinking and manage your urges. If, for example, you usually drink Friday afternoons or evenings after work with drinking buddies, make plans to do something else during that time with other friends or family members who aren’t into drinking or drinking heavily.
- Distract Yourself. Sometimes you can’t avoid triggers which may be feelings you have or a physical condition that comes on from time to time. Once you experience the urge, distract yourself with something that takes your attention.
- Question the Urge. Think of the urge as a cue, a signal. This signal is telling you to have a drink, but it’s not controlling you. While having an urge can be uncomfortable, it won’t hurt you.
- The Four DS
- 20 Distraction Ideas For Cravings
- Make A Relapseprevention Card to Take with You
This is a classic relapse prevention technique. The Ds standfor: 1. Delay– Since cravings rise and fall like waves, if you can delay a relapse decision for 20 minutes you’ll generally find thecravings dissipate on their own. 2. Distract – Craving time passes more quickly when engaged ina distracting activity for a few minutes. 3. Deep breathing (De...
Take a shower, even if you don’t need one. Scrub hard andturn the water as hot (or cold) as you can stand it. Let it soak into you for afew minutes and by the time you towel dry 20 minutes later yo...Wash and wax the carCall a friend and talk about their problems (not yours)Clean the fridge, the bathroom or the garage – cleaninganything provides just the right amount of physical exertion and mentaldistraction – and as an added bonus you feel better after getting it do...OK, you’ve read this far, and if you think the 4 Ds makesense, take 5 minutes to write a relapse prevention card to carryaround with you. Do it right now (before you get distracted :) and you maximize yourodds of having it ready when you need it.
No matter what path is chosen (abstinence or harm reduction) learning to manage cravings is highly important, so an array of practical coping skills and positive supports is essential. Determination and willpower, although helpful, they alone are poor long-term defenses against craving.
Jun 30, 2021 · Urgings and cravings are unwanted physical and psychological companions along the recovery journey. Strategies for dealing with urgings and cravings, therefore, need to be incorporated into addiction recovery coping skills.
Cravings, or urges to use, are a common feature of addiction. They are the result of long-term alcohol or other drug use and can continue even after you stop using. Cravings can be triggered by people, places, objects, feelings, situations and anything else associated with a person’s drug use.
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However, SMART Recovery offers a powerful tool to help you navigate these difficult moments: the Urge Log. This resource is not just a way to record when you experience an urge, but a pathway to understanding your triggers, your responses, and most importantly, your strengths.
