Strategies for Staying Sober and Coping With Cravings
Cravings are a common aspect that people in the recovery process of addiction recovery are bound to experience. They are often one of the most difficult aspects of recovery, but it is critical to learn and apply proper coping mechanisms to avoid relapse and understand coping with cravings. At Restoration Recovery, we know that it is possible to empower our clients to manage their cravings in a healthy manner.
Coping With Cravings
Cravings are strong appetites or strong desires to take a certain substance. These can be influenced by stress, certain stimuli within the environment, people one interacts with, or even one’s mood. The beginning of understanding cravings during the recovery process is understanding that although they happen they can be controlled.
Utilizing the following techniques can help you to manage cravings. To fully understand and work through your cravings, it is important to have the tools to help you work through some of these cravings when they arise.
Coping With Cravings Through Mindfulness Techniques
The state of mindfulness is an awareness in which one focuses on the present moment, as well as the thoughts that occur in it without passing judgment on them. Mindfulness techniques can assist people in identifying their cravings and the ways of preventing them.
Mindful Breathing
When the desire to use a substance comes on, just take a couple of minutes and pay attention to your breath. Take a deep breath in through your nose, hold it for as long as you can, then let it out through your mouth. This easy method can assist in clearing the thoughts and decrease the strength of the craving.
Body Scan Meditation
This entails focusing on various parts of the body, including the toes, legs, arms, chest, back, stomach, face, and head. This practice should assist you in maintaining your stability and letting go of your focus on the craving.
Mindful Observation
Do not attempt to avoid the desire or try to stop thinking about it. Recognize it, accept it as a fact that it is temporary, and accept the fact that you have control over how to react to it. Allow yourself to be aware of the uncomfortable feelings you experience with cravings and sit through them, accepting them for what they are.
Coping With Cravings Through Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most efficient methods for dealing with cravings. It entails the process of changing unhealthy thinking processes and finding ways to deal with problems.
Thought Stopping
When you get a craving, tell it – either out loud or in your head – to stop. Eliminate the negative thought and replace it with a positive one like, “I have the power to be sober.” When you notice a negative thought arise, practice stopping it, preventing you from falling into a downward mental spiral.
Cognitive Restructuring
Engage in activities that will help to dispute or change irrational or negative thoughts that lead to cravings. For instance, you may have the thought, “I can’t deal with this stress without using.” Change it to: “I am capable of coping with stress in other ways; I can talk to a friend or go for a jog.”
Behavioral Activation
Take part in events that make you happy and make you feel that you are accomplishing something. Engaging in other activities will also help in avoiding the temptation of giving in to cravings because you have other things to do. Find something that activates the positive side of your mind.
Coping With Cravings Through Support Networks
Having a support system is essential for controlling cravings and avoiding relapse. The following people can be included in this network: family, friends, supporters, peers, and others, including professional counselors. There are various ways to increase your support networks at Restoration Recovery.
Peer Support Groups
Engaging in support groups such as AA or NA meetings, or utilizing group therapy, people get to come together and share their stories. This is very inspiring and makes them feel they are not alone.
Accountability Partners
Get a friend or a family member who can help you stay on track and report to him or her. A person of your choice can call you from time to time, motivate you, and make sure that you are not straying from your recovery plan.
Additional Techniques for Coping With Cravings
Outside of mindfulness, CBT, and support, there are various other techniques that you can utilize to help manage cravings.
Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Some of the ways through which it is possible to minimize the occurrence and the strength of cravings include practicing a healthy lifestyle. This may include regular exercise to help increase the production of endorphins, which are chemicals that make one feel good. Exercise is also very effective in helping to take the mind off these cravings. Having a balanced diet and adequate sleep are also helpful suggestions.
Avoiding Triggers
Identify the people, places, or circumstances that make you crave using a substance. Learning the patterns of the triggers is the first step to avoiding them in the first place. Make a strategy of what to do if and when a trigger is identified. It can mean altering one’s behavior, not going to specific locations, or engaging in a specific activity to redirect your attention.
Cravings are often a difficult aspect of the process of recovering from substance use disorder that people have to learn how to cope with. Using suggested strategies, it is possible to manage the cravings and prevent a relapse. It is our goal at Restoration Recovery to assist clients in maintaining recovery as a lifetime process. This is where you need to seek help from your support system and keep up with the strategies, no matter the challenges, and acknowledge the progress made. Utilizing our assistance in developing the coping skills to manage cravings can help set you up for long-term success in your recovery journey. To learn more, reach out to Restoration Recovery at (888) 290-0925.
