The End of the Road: Drug and Alcohol cravings
The End of the Road: Drug and Alcohol cravings
By Elijah W. on December 3, 2012
(Overview at the Onala Recovery Center and its benefits)
I’ve spent over 100 hours at the Onala Recovery Center this pass semester observing how they operate and understanding the issue of alcohol addiction and its damage. I’ve sat and had conversations with alcoholics and drug abusers. It’s not easy noticing whose and addict and who isn’t. Alcohol and drug addiction is a serious issue. Many people live difficult lives and families are broken apart because of this. Today we want to see how we can best manage drug and alcohol cravings during our recovery.
Many people in early recovery are probably wondering if it is even possible to do so. The first few weeks of recovery following detox can be typically difficult, so you must try to be patient and relaxed.
Accepting cravings in early recovery:
Part of this is just acceptance: You have to realize that you are going to have some cravings when you are early in recovery. To some amount the only way that you are going to successfully deal with those early cravings is to realize that they are going to pop up and that you need a plan in place to handle it.
Later on in your recovery alcohol and drug cravings will become far less frequent and you will have more power to control them at that time. But in very early recovery you have to realize that there is going to be an initial adjustment period where your brain gets used to the idea that you are no longer going to self-medicate all the time.
So when you are in very early recovery you should not be fighting or resisting each craving that you experience. Doing so is silly because you have almost no control over the cravings at this early stage in the game. You are going to have them because normally you are so used to self- medicating and now suddenly you have stopped doing so. Every little thing in your life that you experience is going to have
By Elijah W. on December 3, 2012
(Overview at the Onala Recovery Center and its benefits)
I’ve spent over 100 hours at the Onala Recovery Center this pass semester observing how they operate and understanding the issue of alcohol addiction and its damage. I’ve sat and had conversations with alcoholics and drug abusers. It’s not easy noticing whose and addict and who isn’t. Alcohol and drug addiction is a serious issue. Many people live difficult lives and families are broken apart because of this. Today we want to see how we can best manage drug and alcohol cravings during our recovery.
Many people in early recovery are probably wondering if it is even possible to do so. The first few weeks of recovery following detox can be typically difficult, so you must try to be patient and relaxed.
Accepting cravings in early recovery:
Part of this is just acceptance: You have to realize that you are going to have some cravings when you are early in recovery. To some amount the only way that you are going to successfully deal with those early cravings is to realize that they are going to pop up and that you need a plan in place to handle it.
Later on in your recovery alcohol and drug cravings will become far less frequent and you will have more power to control them at that time. But in very early recovery you have to realize that there is going to be an initial adjustment period where your brain gets used to the idea that you are no longer going to self-medicate all the time.
So when you are in very early recovery you should not be fighting or resisting each craving that you experience. Doing so is silly because you have almost no control over the cravings at this early stage in the game. You are going to have them because normally you are so used to self- medicating and now suddenly you have stopped doing so. Every little thing in your life that you experience is going to have