The Courage To Be Sober Chapter 30

How I Dealt With My Urges And Cravings

What are urges well, they are what I call little thoughts in my mind. When I stopped cold turkey with my addiction to alcohol, I had these short bursts of thoughts about drinking.

Sometimes they came as a dream as I slept. Some were waking dreams that drove me crazy. I would at times crave alcohol and didn’t know why at that moment until I faced the craving head-on with a serious look on my face like I was playing a video game like a child would be

playing their Xbox.

There were moments when I thought to give up and just have a drink but this little voice in my head would say are you serious all this time you spent on your sobriety and now this moment you want to give in to an urge to drink well, Just Stop It and get back on track. This would happen many times a day, some lasting longer than others but at the three-month point they really started to disappear and they faded away like rolling fog on a fall evening.

I often would use meditation to relieve the feeling and at other times I would ask myself what is creating this urge in my mind. The answer would often be a past memory of a situation that would come into my life at the time that was causing me to crave alcohol or want to smoke again.

I had so many demons in my life it felt like I was getting punched in the stomach on a daily basis. What a learning experience I had for nearly ninety days straight. I didn’t know if the feeling would pass through me and disappear altogether but it did. Now I can say that these urges and cravings are but a distant memory yes, I can talk about them now and I believe that talking about these feelings is so very important not only for myself but for others that are dealing with the same happenings in their lives.

If you are reading this sentence and having urges and cravings in your life then you need to deal with the past pains that you have. My recommendation is to seek out help if you are unable to deal with these urges and cravings on your own. There are meetings like SMART “Self Management And Recovery Training” that will help you with your addictions.

I now am a facilitator for SMART here locally in my hometown helping hundreds and thousands of people dealing with addictions! There are many ways you can deal with your addictions but the biggest is it takes responsibility for your thoughts, feelings and beliefs about yourself and others that are stopping you from living the life you want and truly deserve.

Yes, of course, this is your choice to make the decision that best suits your life but for me, I dealt with my issues head-on. Yes, it took me thirty years to figure it out and lots of money that I spent on my addictions but I am here to tell you that anything is possible when you want it so much that you can taste it on a daily basis.

The Coping Methods That I Used For My Addictions

1. Facing the urges

2. Asking yourself where are the urges coming from

3. Dealing with your past pains when they come into your life

4. Never give up on what you want in life

5. Seek out meetings and services that help you deal with your thoughts

feelings and beliefs

6. Take 100% responsibility for your addictions

7. Stop blaming others for your addictions

8. Alcohol addiction is NOT A Disease

9. Create a game plan for coping with urges and cravings so they don’t ruin

your life