Everyone who has been using drugs would experience uncomfortable cravings at some point. Moreover, at the outset of recovery, these urges become even more intense.

But, the good thing is that you can understand these conflicting desires and learn to resist them. If you are determined enough to dispute these cravings and prevent them from occurring again, these five simple tips can help you.

Let’s get started-

Go For Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy provides a myriad of techniques to cope with the cravings whenever they arise. This therapy teaches the recovering addicts to identify their negative automatic thoughts. People often try to escape from feelings of fear and self-doubt by drinking or abusing drugs.

When a craving arises, choose to distract yourself or direct your attention to something else. Indulge in productive activities that help to reduce negative thoughts and need to use drugs. Besides CBT, medical practices such as Ibogaine treatment are known to alleviate drug cravings, depression symptoms, and stress disorders.

Use Mindfulness Technique To Conquer Cravings

Cravings are like waves that rise, build to their peak and fall. Rather than suppressing or trying to stop the cravings altogether, surf the urge.  It is a mindful technique that suggests accepting a craving rather than resisting it. It is quite an efficient way to curb drug cravings and relapse.

Here is how to practice urge surfing-

Whenever you feel a craving, stop for a while and acknowledge it. Accept the feeling completely without trying to make it go away. Sit calm, close your eyes, and observe the thoughts, sensations in your mind and body, respectively.

It helps to acknowledge the thoughts and feelings during the experience. Describe as many feelings or sensations as possible until you no longer feel the craving. The reason behind this technique is to build confidence that you can overcome the situation.

Talk It Out With Others

It’s good to have a companion who can encourage you to quit drugs. You can attend a support group where you can share with other recovering addicts about your conflicting desire to use drugs. Consider calling your sponsor when the craving arises so that he/she can make you feel relaxed.

If you don’t want professional help but only want someone to talk to, there are so many options. You can talk to your family and friends about the situation. Another way is to use drug helplines which allow you to speak to a trained counselor or volunteer who knows what you’re going through.

Get A Hobby To Avoid The Urge

Hobbies not only makes you feel happy, but they are an excellent means of distraction when the urge arises. Many times, drug cravings occur out of boredom because the mind tries to fill a void or empty space.

A hobby provides something productive to engage yourself other than drug use. Some interesting activities you might try are dancing, cooking, art and craft, video games, etc.

Make A Habit To Meditate Daily

Meditation is one of the most effective ways to overcome the negative thoughts that might create an urge to take drugs. It clears the mind, calms the body, and leads you to greater spiritual awareness.

Moreover, meditation elicits the same brain waves that therapists use to treat addiction. It stimulates and trains your brain to be happy without the need for prescriptions, drugs, or alcohol.

Conclusion

Cravings are a part of drug addiction recovery. Whether you haven’t used drugs for months or just stopped using a weak before, it is likely to feel an urge to go high at some point. We hope that these simple tips would help you to ride out the urge to take drugs in an effective way.