What to Do When You Crave Alcohol

A craving can make drinking feel like an emergency.

Your brain starts negotiating.

Just one.

You've been doing good.

Maybe this time will be different.

You can start again tomorrow.

When that happens, you don't need to figure out how you're going to stay sober for the rest of your life.

That's way too big of a problem to solve while your brain is screaming at you to drink.

Make the problem smaller.

Get through the next ten minutes.

Then, if you need to, deal with the ten minutes after that.

First: A Craving Is a Feeling, Not an Instruction

This is one of the most important things I've learned about cravings:

Just because I feel something doesn't mean I have to do something about it.

A craving can feel incredibly convincing.

That doesn't make it a command.

For a lot of us, drinking became an automatic response to certain situations.

Stress → drink.

Boredom → drink.

Bad day → drink.

Good day → drink.

Friday night → drink.

Eventually you don't even have to consciously decide. The situation happens and your brain already knows the old routine.

Getting sober means creating some space between those two things.

Trigger → pause → choice.

That pause might only be ten minutes at first.

That's enough to start.

1. Delay the Decision to Drink

When you're craving alcohol, don't start arguing with yourself about whether you'll ever drink again.

You don't need to answer that question right now.

Tell yourself:

I'm not drinking for the next ten minutes.

That's it.

You're not solving tomorrow.

You're not solving Christmas.

You're not solving your friend's wedding six months from now.

You're dealing with the moment you're actually standing in.

When ten minutes passes, you can choose another ten.

Sometimes making the decision smaller makes it easier to handle.

2. Change Your Environment

If you're sitting somewhere thinking about drinking, move.

Go outside.

Change rooms.

Take a shower.

Walk around the block.

Go somewhere alcohol isn't easily available.

If you're driving toward the liquor store, change your route.

Sometimes staying in exactly the same environment while trying desperately not to think about drinking makes the craving harder than it needs to be.

Interrupt the pattern.

You don't have to sit there and prove how strong you are.

3. Eat Something

This sounds ridiculously simple.

But ask yourself:

When did I last eat?

Being hungry, exhausted or generally run down can make an already difficult moment feel a hell of a lot worse.

You don't need to make the perfect recovery meal.

Make a sandwich.

Order something.

Eat cereal.

Grab a snack.

Sometimes taking care of a basic physical need changes the entire situation.

4. Grab Something Non-Alcoholic to Drink

Part of the craving can sometimes be connected to the routine itself.

Coming home.

Opening the fridge.

Grabbing something cold.

Sitting down.

So give yourself another option.

Water. Coffee. Soda. Sparkling water. Tea. Whatever works for you.

For some people, non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic drinks can be helpful; for others, they can be triggering. Pay attention to what actually helps you rather than assuming one approach works for everybody.

The goal is simple:

Give yourself another move.

5. Move Your Body

You don't need to suddenly become a fitness influencer because you got sober.

Just move.

Walk.

Stretch.

Clean the kitchen.

Take the dog out.

Go around the block.

Put headphones on and get outside.

Sometimes movement helps break the feeling that you're trapped inside the craving.

And even if you're still thinking about drinking afterward, you've bought yourself some time.

That matters.

6. Distract Yourself

There are moments in recovery where distraction is completely fucking acceptable.

You don't have to deeply analyze every craving while it's happening.

Watch a movie.

Play a game.

Scroll stupid videos.

Clean something.

Cook.

Go for a drive somewhere safe that isn't connected to drinking.

Work on something.

Do a puzzle.

Call somebody.

Sometimes you don't need to understand the craving immediately.

Sometimes you just need to outlast it.

7. Reach Out to Someone

Cravings can get louder when you're sitting alone negotiating with yourself.

Tell somebody.

You don't need some perfectly worded speech.

You can literally say:

"I'm having a rough craving right now. Can you talk to me for a bit?"

That person might be a friend, family member, recovery friend, sponsor, peer-support person, counsellor, therapist or someone else you trust.

You don't need them to magically fix the craving.

Sometimes having another person in the conversation is enough to interrupt the one happening inside your head.

8. Ask Yourself What Triggered the Craving

You don't necessarily need to do this while the craving is at its strongest.

But afterward, get curious.

Ask yourself:

What happened right before I wanted to drink?

Were you:

Hungry?

Angry?

Lonely?

Tired?

Stressed?

Bored?

Celebrating?

Around someone you used to drink with?

Driving the route where you normally bought alcohol?

Did 5:00 PM roll around?

Was it Friday?

Did somebody piss you off?

Sometimes the trigger is obvious.

Sometimes it isn't.

But over time, you may start recognizing patterns.

And recognizing a pattern gives you an opportunity to prepare for it next time.

9. Remember Why You Stopped Drinking

Cravings have a funny way of editing the past.

Your brain can suddenly remember the first drink and conveniently forget everything that came afterward.

So remind yourself of the whole story.

Not to beat yourself up.

Not to sit there drowning in shame.

Just don't let nostalgia rewrite reality.

Ask yourself:

Why did I want to get sober in the first place?

Then remember the answer.

10. Give the Craving Time

A craving can feel permanent when you're inside it.

It isn't necessarily permanent.

Feelings change.

Thoughts change.

Situations change.

That's why one of the simplest recovery mantras has become one of my favourites:

This too shall pass.

It doesn't mean the next ten minutes will magically be comfortable.

It means you don't need to make a permanent decision based on a temporary feeling.

What If the Craving Doesn't Go Away?

Then do another ten minutes.

Change environments again.

Eat.

Call somebody.

Distract yourself.

Use whatever recovery supports work for you.

And if you're genuinely concerned that you're going to drink or use again, reach out for more support rather than trying to white-knuckle the situation alone.

That might mean contacting someone you trust, a recovery support, healthcare professional, addiction professional or another appropriate service.

Needing help during a difficult moment isn't some failure of recovery.

Using support is part of recovery.

Cravings Don't Mean You're Failing

You can be grateful you're sober and still have a day where drinking crosses your mind.

You can have weeks or months of progress and get unexpectedly triggered.

The thought itself isn't the decision.

Your brain remembering an old escape route doesn't mean you have to take it.

Every time you experience a trigger and respond differently, you're practicing another way of dealing with life.

That's the work.

Having an Alcohol Craving Right Now?

Forget tomorrow for a minute.

Forget next month.

Forget forever.

What can you do for the next ten minutes that isn't drinking?

Eat something.

Drink something.

Move.

Change environments.

Distract yourself.

Reach out.

Wait.

And then, if you need to:

Do another ten. 🖤