# How to stop alcohol cravings?! Help!
**URL:** https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247
**Category:** Emotional Support
**Tags:** cravings, alcohol
**Created:** [February 3, 2021, 8:05am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247 "2021-02-03T08:05:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 8:05am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/1 "2021-02-03T08:05:41Z")
So almost day 3 and my Husband has asked the last 2 days if I want a drink, he’s just as bad as me but in his eyes there’s not a problem. We both drink daily, well we did. I gave up last year, I was going great and I was losing weight, feeling better, less depressed then I lost a great friend in a tragic accident that affected me so badly I started drinking again. It wasn’t just losing her it was how she died and the fact she left 6 babies and a Husband to be behind. It’s changed my whole outlook on life. Anyway fast forward to now. I’ve started back at work this week after a month off and I’d really like to stick to my plan. I’m sick of waking up feeling like shit and pushing through my day, I want to feel better for my kids too. I think today is hard because I have a day off tomorrow so I know I could drink and it wouldn’t matter, but it really does. Help!? How do you curve cravings?
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### Author:  [@Fury](https://talkingsober.com/u/Fury)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 8:14am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/2 "2021-02-03T08:14:51Z")
Hi kitty,
I still struggle with the cravings months in as well as others, my success has been in refocusing my thoughts, creating creative outlets to occupy my time until the craving subsides, often I get too focused on what I’m doing to even stop after the craving released,
HTH
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### Author:  [@DougM](https://talkingsober.com/u/DougM)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 9:41am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/3 "2021-02-03T09:41:58Z")
I can relate my first few attempts getting.clean failed for the exact same reason. I had 6 friends od and die just in 2020 alone, i think in total in the 12 years of my addiction i had a total of 14 friends/acquaintances die from ods, and i used it as a reason to numb myself and continue using the same damn shit that killed handfulls of my buddies…honestly i was so fucked up that if someone did od on something then i knew it was really good and thats the stuff i wanted and went and got…so stupid looking back. But i used it as a excuse to relapse and that only made things worse and my addiction spiral more out of control. But for me staying busy and doing anything productive helps. Also meetings help alot with the mental struggle and i mean alot, dont ubderestimate the power of good meetings.
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 10:30am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/4 "2021-02-03T10:30:38Z")
Thanks Fury x I’ve recently reopened an old online business that I used to run, it has definitely kept me occupied sorting through stock, creating and posting ads etc. I’m also making items for my store which is great because it’s keeping me busy as well as being satisfying 🙂 Tbh I think I’m struggling today particularly knowing I could write myself off tonight because I don’t have to work tomorrow 😪
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 10:35am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/5 "2021-02-03T10:35:50Z")
Thanks Doug x 2020 was a nightmare, sorry to hear about your friends, I lost 3 people as well, all within months of each other. It’s crazy how addiction affects us, losing my friend was an eye opener, I was already there as I had been many times before, I just needed to be pushed over the edge. I’m definitely ready as my health has been affected. It’s time to get healthy again ❤
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### Author:  [@siand](https://talkingsober.com/u/siand)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 10:53am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/6 "2021-02-03T10:53:41Z")
Hey! You might have seen this already, but if not I would recommend having a read through the links posted in this thread -
> [@Welcome to Talking Sober! 2023 update!](https://talkingsober.com/t/welcome-to-the-forum-2021-edition/106378):
>
> Hello wave and welcome hugs With more than 49,000 topics, 1.6 million posts and 38,700 members, it can be hard to know where to start. This topic has been put together to help you with that. We are people from all over the world who are working out how to do life sober - from alcohol, other drugs, sex and love addictions, self harm . . . we all have different stories and are at different places in our journey, but we are all here today and that’s what matters! First and foremost, please t…
Lots of great info!
Also…
> [@Kitty80](#):
>
> I know I could drink and it wouldn’t matter
Does not line up with…
> [@Kitty80](#):
>
> I gave up last year, I was going great and I was losing weight, feeling better, less depressed
Hang on to these motivations. Have your list (actual or mental) of all the reasons you want to stay sober and make sure you can pull them out when cravings strike.
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 11:04am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/7 "2021-02-03T11:04:36Z")
Thank you I will check it out. No they don’t line up but that would be my way of justifying drinking. Thank you I will 😊
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### Author:  [@Kipper](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kipper)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 11:04am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/8 "2021-02-03T11:04:40Z")
When cravings are really bad, try HALT.
Are you
HUNGRY?
ANGRY?
LONELY?
TIRED?
usually when my cravings are really bad, I am one of those things. I address that (naps are the best) and the craving lessens or goes completely
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### Author:  [@Matt](https://talkingsober.com/u/Matt)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/10 "2021-02-03T13:33:17Z")
@littlemisschatterbox I dub you Queen of Infographics. I really love them - they clarify so much about our recovery!
@Kitty80 I feel for you. The early days are delicate - like learning to walk. The difference for us is we’re adults and we feel embarrassed to feel so helpless 😓
You have to step - or stumble - through these days one at a time. You also need support. Talking Sober is helpful; so are other online recovery spaces:
[Online meeting resources](https://talkingsober.com/t/online-meeting-resources/83966)
As many people have said before me: don’t crave alone. If you’re craving (or romanticizing about) alcohol, just come on here and read and chat, or join one of those online meetings. Be prepared to get that devil off your shoulder: he’s a tricky bastard and will try to trick you into drinking any way he can.
Don’t let his BS about you “feeling better after one drink” get to you. He’s full of shit. Tell him you do not need him, and that you are good enough, on your own, to live your life, fully present and sober. Yes you feel sad sometimes, yes you feel down, yes you feel happy, but all of it is sober.
You’re a good person and you deserve a safe, sober life where you can be your full self.
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### Author:  [@SassyRocks](https://talkingsober.com/u/SassyRocks)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/11 "2021-02-03T14:54:00Z")
I am so very sorry about your friend, that sounds like a horrible situation for her family and so very painful for them and for you. Grief is such a deep emotion…I hope you have allowed / allow yourself to feel the pain of your loss. So often we can get stuck with our pain if we don’t allow it its due.
I think you are wise to return to sobriety. You certainly know its benefits. We all know its drawbacks and how it strips us of so much.
A few things I did when craving…walk in nature, sugar free peppermint Life Savers, flavored fizzy water, bake and eat sweets, go to bed early, soak in the tub, listen to meditations and meditate, restorative or yin yoga, come on here and read or reach out or both, puzzles, bike ride. Mostly…I ate or slept at my cravings…went full on baby…
It helped!!
So glad you are working on getting healthy and healing!! ❤
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/12 "2021-02-04T00:03:20Z")
Thanks littlemisschatterbox x I do notice I crave more towards the afternoon, I just need to get through those couple of hours and I find when I do I feel fine! Thanks for the tip, I’ll definitely take that on board x
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/13 "2021-02-04T00:11:11Z")
Thanks Matt, coming on here has already helped a lot. I’ve been reading through a lot of comments and can relate to so much. I’m very grateful to have found this app, I’ve used them before but never had the option to interact with other people going through the same thing. As for the devil on my should let he can stfu lol. I just keep reminding myself about how shitty alcohol makes me feel. I actually got up early this morning, I feel great and am currently working on my online store 😊
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### Author:  [@Matt](https://talkingsober.com/u/Matt)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/14 "2021-02-04T00:13:18Z")
Awesome! Keep it up.
Write down that list of how shitty alcohol makes you feel, and keep it somewhere where you can review it when you need to. That can help when those cravings come. Sassy keeps hers here - maybe you can relate!
> [@A lifelong drinker hits 1200 days sober](https://talkingsober.com/t/a-lifelong-drinker-hits-1200-days-sober/92365):
>
> I spent more than 40 years drinking and using various drugs. It was all I knew. It was social and ‘fun’, until it wasn’t. My drinking wasn’t ‘fun’ or normal for a couple of decades, but denial and lethargy can keep you stuck…and that pull of oblivion at the bottom of the never ending wine bottle was my friend. I spent decades jumping from one addiction to another to avoid ‘life’ and my self…yet still I did all the adult stuff of home, family, work…the epitome of a ‘functioning alcoholic’…never s…
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/15 "2021-02-04T00:20:21Z")
Thanks Sassy x I took a month off work to process my emotions, I work in customer service as well as admin and I just could not face customers or people with how I felt at the time. Losing her rocked me to the core and put my life into perspective. I’m a very spiritual person so it hit me on a whole other level that some people probably won’t understand, specially in my retail job. I’ve been meditating, going to the beach, pottering in my garden and trying to keep busy even before I decided to give up again. I’ve got the tools I just need to keep going. And omg eat lol. My appetite has come back so much, I feel like I’ve never been this hungry before in my life lol, well at least not for a very long time 😂
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### Author:  [@Dancingwheel](https://talkingsober.com/u/Dancingwheel)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:24am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/16 "2021-02-04T00:24:26Z")
I’m so sorry about your friend. I know grief and loss all too well, and it’s so confusing.
It just tips the scales unexpectedly and sporadically and is really really heavy. Especially when theres kids and family involved… it’s A LOT!
What helped me, during the worst of my grief in 2019, was working out, going on a walk, replotting plants, baking, sobriety podcasts, or forcing myself to do a project.
I rearranged my house SO MANY times during that time. I still do it a lot, honestly.
If I have a lot on my mind, I will completely reorganize or rearrange a room in my home.
It kills a few hours and I’m usually exhausted by the time I’m done.
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/17 "2021-02-04T00:38:20Z")
I will lol. I read Sassy’s story I can relate so much and just reminded me of all the shitty things I’ve done while drinking! The blackouts were the worst and then the embarassment of my Husband telling me what I did the night before but had no recollection of, making ‘drunk’ plans I had to cancel or couldn’t even remember and the messages to people 🙄 omg. Yep I don’t ever want to go back to that! I’ll get myself a journal today and in my weak moments I’ll write my thoughts and feelings down ❤
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### Author:  [@Dancingwheel](https://talkingsober.com/u/Dancingwheel)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/18 "2021-02-04T00:42:43Z")
> [@A little grief share](https://talkingsober.com/t/a-little-grief-share/84751):
>
> Grief is something that is carried with us. I think that as soon as we can learn to work with it, instead of pushing it away, we gain access to a new portal of healing. Im not saying that its easy. Its constant work. I dont know who made this illustration but, i love it so much.
These little illustrations always helped me.
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### Author:  [@Cigfreed](https://talkingsober.com/u/Cigfreed)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 12:22pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/19 "2021-02-04T12:22:42Z")
Cravings are just a part of the deal. I’m a year and a half into my quit and I often get cravings, although they’re milder now and not as frequent. I’m one of the ones who are angry for having been fooled by alcohol into addiction, so I use my anger to squelch cravings. I actually welcome cravings so I can ridicule them. I say, “Oh, it’s YOU again, you pathetic piece of sh#t! Is that all you got? Well, f#ck you! I’m in charge now, so take your lies somewhere else!” Sometimes I actually walk down the alcohol aisle at my grocery store so I can flip the bird at my favorite brand of beer (Samuel Adams). Best wishes, Kitty! Keep your quit! 👍
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### Author:  [@Kitty80](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kitty80)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2021, 1:22pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/how-to-stop-alcohol-cravings-help/109247/20 "2021-02-04T13:22:47Z")
Omg I love that! 💜 Thank you 😊