I’m only on day 3
Probably the longest I have gone with out a drink for a long time
Just wondering how long before the cravings for a drink start getting less
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Maybe try a meeting they help get phone numbers wish you well
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Congrats on day 3! It’s a start in the right direction. Cravings will stop when you decide to change your mindset that alcohol does not control you. You can do this if you really want to stop drinking! Stay strong and sober it’s so worth it!
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Took me about a month before they subsided. I still get them though. When im upset about something or lets say on the weekends when i know everyone i know is out partying. It gets better but they never go away.
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Cravings can be categorized in to two buckets; physical and psychological.
Physical cravings occur when your brain is dependent on alcohol to function normally. You may feel off, or feel like you’re in a “fog”. Your hands may shake, you may sweat a lot and you might have trouble sleeping. This is all because you are breaking that dependancy. During this time, you will have strong urges to drink in order to feel “normal”. This may last one to three weeks (or more), peaking around 4 or 5 days and lessening thereafter. Meetings help, hanging out on this forum helps. Exercise, diet, meditation all help.
Psychological cravings last a lot longer. These cravings are all in your head though. They are caused by events in life where we would normally turn to the bottle. To get through these types of cravings, you need to identify what it is you are really needing. Everytime you say, “I need a drink” you dont really NEED a drink you want something, so “drink” can be replaced with what you really want. For example, after a long day of work, instead of “I need a drink” you would say, “I need to relax and unwind”. If you’re upset, “I need a timeout to calm down”. If you’re celebrating, “I need to treat myself”. Basically, retrain yourself to start thinking about what you really need instead of what you used to do as your standard “Go To”. It can take a while to retrain your brain; months or even years. The more you successfully navigate these experiences, the easier it becomes.
For me, I felt maybe 90% normal by week 4, and 100% normal by week 12. It may seem daunting at first, but the thing is, you only have to go through this once then it’s all a mental game.
Welcome and congrats on day 3!
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Thanks for all your comments
Really helps 
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I have the same feelings… I’m just wrapping up day 1 so I’m not too far behind… I’ll go a couple days, maybe a week where I’m not thinking of drinking or don’t even want it… Then there’s just this fucking cloud that comes over. And suddenly that bottle is allll I can think about, and then it’s just one day after another
They say a craving only lasts upward of 2 minutes…acknowledge the thought and let it pass by. It’s terribly difficult in the beginning and your strength will be tested numerous times but once you get over those hurdles you will feel on top of the world. Day by day you will get stronger
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It’s so hard! Stay busy. For the first couple months I craved my usual drinks at my usual times, but the cravings got less and less frequent and intense. I kept myself busy and distracted as much as possible: running, yoga, meditating, reading recovery books (or any book), going to AA meetings, baking (desserts definitely helped satisfy some of the cravings!), taking my dog for walks, going out for coffee, bubble baths with a good book (I took a lot of baths in early sobriety, i was clean AF 
), drawing (bought myself a sketch book and pencils)…the point is, try not to obsess about the craving, it will pass! But keep yourself busy to lessen the amount of time you’re thinking about drinking.
Sobriety is so worth it–keep going!
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This made me feel better tonight thank you. I’m on day 4
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That’s awesome!! Keep it up man!