Distract yourself
A positive distraction can help occupy your thoughts and energy, giving you something to focus on besides the urge to drink.
Hanks recommends creating a list of distractions you can turn to when a craving hits and keeping that list somewhere you can access it quickly — on your phone, the fridge, or in a journal, for example.
A few activities to consider:
- Put on some music and dance.
- Pick up a book and read a chapter.
- Go for a walk, by yourself or with a friend or pet.
- Watch something funny.
- Make a snack or cup of tea.
- Clean out a drawer.
- Try some mindful coloring.
- Spend some time on your favorite hobby.
Other helpful distractions might include meditation, calling a sober buddy, or taking a shower, Hank suggests.
Reach out to a friend
Checking in with another person in your life who’s trying to stop drinking can certainly help you ride out a craving with someone who understands.
But even when you don’t know anyone else trying to make a similar change, friends and loved ones can still offer emotional support.
Even 10 minutes catching up on recent news and sharing stories from your daily life can offer enough of a distraction that the craving passes, almost before you know it.
Stay present
You might notice stressful or tense situations tend to fuel cravings more often than not.
If that’s the case for you, mindfulness exercises can help you anchor your awareness in the present moment and soothe yourself until the craving passes.
A few ideas to try:
- deep breathing or relaxation exercises
- grounding techniques
- physical activity, including yoga or stretches
- changing your environment
Embrace curiosity
Rather than steeling yourself to face a craving with a sense of restriction, Hanks recommends approaching the craving with curiosity.
You might say to yourself, for example, “I wonder how moving through this craving without drinking would feel.”
It could also help to address your brain directly (even if you feel a little self-conscious). Hanks suggests something along the lines of, “I hear you want a drink, but we’re trying something new. Let’s see how it feels.”
Know Your Triggers
During your daily activities, keep a journal with you and take notes of when you notice any cravings, regardless of whether they are mild or strong. Try to figure out what it was (e.g. a place, a person, a situation and so on) that initiated this craving for alcohol. This will help you to anticipate cravings and plan how to deal with the triggers. For instance, if you know you’re going to be around people who are drinking, know what non-alcoholic drink you’ll order ahead of time, have an exit strategy and keep in mind anyone you can call for support.
Keep Busy
You may find that your cravings are strongest when you’re not busy. This may be because you associate boredom with a need to drink. Regardless of the reason, being busy with fulfilling activities can help keep you distracted from urges to drink. Spending time with family and friends and engaging in hobbies and personal pursuits can also stop alcohol cravings. This is because you are finding enjoyment and passing time in activities that don’t involve drinking.
Think About the Consequences
One effective way to stop cravings is to remind yourself what the consequences will be if you indulge those cravings. The negative effects of alcohol abuse for you could be a worsened mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety, or a relapse into alcohol addiction. Alcoholism can be devastating—both for you and those you care about—so it isn’t worth giving into a craving, even if you tell yourself “just this one time.”
Practice Mindfulness and Meditation
It’s okay to have cravings, so long as you don’t blindly give in to them. The purpose of mindfulness and meditation is to help you be aware of unhealthy impulses, without engaging in them. The practice encourages you to simply notice urges to drink, without feeling that you have to satisfy those urges.
