![\"craving-tell-yourself-part-two\"](\"https:\/\/bridgesofhope.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/craving-tell-yourself-part-two.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThings to tell yourself when you’re craving:<\/strong><\/p>\n 6. “Remember how you looked like when you were using\/drinking?”\u00a0<\/strong>You may have seen your old pictures back when you had a completely different lifestyle than your sober ones now. Your skin may have been dry and gaunt, your eyes sunken, your skin sticking to your bones, and you were very thin. If you were using meth, you may even have meth marks and rotting teeth. You didn’t care about your hygiene and you don’t have money to buy yourself new clothes. Now, you gained a few pounds, you look fresh, healthy and thin. That glow came back to your skin and you have a certain twinkle in your eyes. You look more alive than ever. Do you want to go back to looking the way you did before?<\/p>\n 7. Do you want to go back to that time when you ____?\u00a0<\/b>While you were still under the influence, you may have made a few (if not a lot of) bad decisions. You broke ties and relationships along the way, you have embarrassed yourself and your family, you lost your job, made a mess of your life, gotten into trouble with authorities–your life was a plain mess. Or maybe you should try to remember that one time you almost thought you’re going to die, or that time you split your head open in a brawl. Do you want to go back to that kind of life? Because if you come near to those substances again, you are inviting those events to happen again.<\/p>\n 8. “Be mature. You’re an adult now.”\u00a0<\/strong>If you go back to the way you were, it’s like you were still a juvenile, and back then you were younger so you pretty much have a good enough excuse. But now, you’re older and should be wiser. You have more responsibilities now, and probably, you have family with kids who depend on you. Can you afford to act the way you did before? Would you risk your family’s future just so you can do what you want or give in to your cravings? Think about\u00a0that<\/em>.<\/p>\n 9. “You’ll thank yourself for turning your back.”\u00a0<\/strong>While it’s hard to resist the cravings, you’ll thank yourself for it afterwards. You already know what will happen if you give in. You know how awful you’ll feel the next day. You know how your family and friends will feel. If you don’t give in now, you know you’ve made the right choice and you have another sober day to be thankful for. You’ll feel better about yourself and you have nothing to hide or be embarrassed about.<\/p>\n 10. “You know better than that now.”\u00a0<\/strong>Now that you’ve taken your life back, you know you are empowered. You know better than to give in to your cravings. You are not as powerless as you were before. You have decided to stop, and you have gone this far. You can continue to trudge on. And as you go longer in recovery, it won’t be as hard anymore. You are more responsible now, and you can go past those cravings. You can.<\/p>\n Another tip to add to this list is to “finish the story.”\u00a0<\/strong>For now, as you are craving, the idea might be so beautiful and tempting. It makes you feel good and twisted at the same time just thinking about it. However, you should finish the story. Think about what will happen after: the guilt and self-disappointment you’ll feel, the people you’ll hurt, the broken commitment to your recovery, the tendency to go back down the dangerous cycle of addiction, and so on. Compare this story to your recovery story, the one that unravels if you don’t give in. That story is more worthwhile and too beautiful to risk.<\/p>\n
\nDo you fear you are going to relapse? Are you having a hard time in recovery? Have you relapsed already? Or maybe you’re just considering getting treatment for the first time? Let us help you. Call or text us at our confidential helpline at 09175098826.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"