So you have gone through months of addiction treatment and rehabilitation. Now, with fresh new eyes and a sober mind, you’re off to start your life anew. But then, as many weeks pass and reality hits, you find yourself craving for a drink or a hit of that drug you swore you’ll never touch again. What should you do?
Addicts, whether those who were drug or alcohol dependent, wouldn’t be called addicts if the urge isn’t strong. At some point along the way, they would badly want–or even need–to drink or use. The same can still be said when you are in early recovery. Even those who may seem to have established their sobriety would find the temptation knocking at their doors even after a few years.
**This is part 1 of a 2-part series on what to tell yourself when your cravings for drug or alcohol start to creep in**
However, unlike other people who have not struggled with any form of addiction or dependence, it’s hard for those who are addicted or are recovering addicts to just simply go out, have a few drink or snort/smoke a little, go home, and have their world just be normal and well.
For a recovering addict, that’s far from what will happen if ever they drank or used again. You wouldn’t have just “one” or “a few” drink or “just one” snort or hit. That why you even have a problem in the first place.
So when you feel the cravings start to creep in, here are some things you should consider first so that you will stay sober.
1. “It’s not worth it.” Whatever it is that is making you want to drink or use, IT’S NOT WORTH IT. Whether it’s a celebration, mourning, anger, feeling overwhelmed, heartbreak…it’s all not worth losing your sobriety over. There is absolutely nothing that is worth taking your sobriety from you. If you give in to your craving, you will just feel bad and disappointed about yourself in the end, and then you’ll just want to cover up the feeling by drinking or using again, and before you know it, you’re back to the vicious cycle you tried to escape from.
2. “This will pass.” Whatever is causing your craving will pass. It’s temporary. Your sobriety isn’t. Your sobriety is the best thing that you could have given yourself, and you’re not going to give that up now with just a fickle feeling or craving. You will overcome it.
3. “There’s a reason you stopped, remember?” Clouded by your cravings, you may have forgotten why you even decided to stop in the first place. The bad choices, the ruined relationships and trust, the embarrassments, hurts, disappointments, lies, and betrayals along the way… Would you want to go through it all again? Of course not.
4. “Can you really deal with the consequences?” You know the consequences, to your body, mind, life, and to the people around you. Do you want to invite hell back into your life again? Can you afford to do that again? You may not realize how hard and debilitating the effects are until you are sober and you stop having them.
5. “Can you own up to what you did afterwards?” When you give in to your craving, it’s already a relapse. Can you tell people about what you did? Can you face the disappointment and hurt once again? Do you want to live with another mistake? You know what–it doesn’t matter whatever mistake you make now, as long as you’re sober. Anything is better than going back to your old ways.
Here’s 5 of the 10 things you should tell yourself when you have the craving to drink or use again, after you have committed yourself to recovery.
Watch out for the second part soon.
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