7 Practical Tips for Dealing with Alcohol Cravings

You may drink to avoid certain feelings, for instance, but you also may drink to enhance certain feelings. We https://ecosoberhouse.com/ at Muse Treatment and Recovery Center understand the struggles of addiction and want to help you overcome it.

• Addiction is a chronic disease, and those in recovery constantly deal with the risk of relapse.
• It’s not prescribed as often as it once was, but it’s still an option.
• It’s imperative to undergo detox in a professional setting, because alcohol withdrawal has the potential to be fatal.
• Some methods are more helpful early on in your efforts to change your drinking, whether it be to cut back or to stop drinking entirely.
• However, confidentiality laws prevent your provider from giving out any information about you without your consent.

The best way to combat these cravings is by treating them with a strong and healthy diet. Surprisingly, your diet plays an important role in how your cravings for alcohol are maintained. Other supplements such as L-glutamine and milk thistle are thought to decrease cravings and aid in detoxifying the liver, respectively. There is some evidence that milk thistle aids in the regeneration of liver cells. However, these supplements have not been thoroughly substantiated with scientific research to confirm the efficacy of their actions and benefits. Nonetheless, they are safe to take and may help to alleviate some symptoms of withdrawal and cravings. Any general advice posted on our blog, website, or app is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or substitute for any medical or other advice.

Whole Grain Foods

Importantly, protein helps reduce alcohol cravings by carefully stabilizing the production of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays an essential role in the brain and body. This organic chemical influences your mood, motivation, and feelings of reward while regulating body movement. When you begin to incorporate new food groups that assist in managing alcohol cravings, there are some tips to help optimize your meal times and absorption of vitamins and minerals. As you are eating, it is encouraged to practice mindful eating.

Consider tracking and analyzing your urges to drink for a couple of weeks. This will help you become more aware of when and how you experience urges, what triggers them, and ways to avoid or control them. Certain anticonvulsant medications like Topamax have been successful in reducing cravings for alcohol. Campral has been used to address cravings with alcohol but is more successful in reducing the amount of alcohol one drinks once when one has started drinking. ReVia is a drug that was originally designed to address cravings for opiates but has been shown to be effective in addressing cravings for alcohol.

Distract Yourself From the Alcohol Cravings

We would be best served by consulting a medical or treatment professional and asking for help so we don’t have to rely on self-control alone. Everyone who’s engaged in addictive behavior will experience uncomfortable cravings (“I want it badly”) and urges (“I have to do it now”). Remember that everything can happen, either one way or the other, but it is us who control how we react to it. Things do not come to us from outside, our lives are what we create. Therefore, we need to remain attentive and not sweep things under the rug. These things might sound very general but when you look closely they matter each step of the journey. Program specifically designed to help you track and confront your alcohol cravings.

And because many people who drink struggle with depression, this herb can improve mood and stop alcohol cravings, and aid in breaking the alcohol habit. Replacing alcohol with a healthy self-care ritual can ease alcohol cravings and help in breaking the alcohol habit. Therapy can help people to address their alcohol cravings. Someone may have had an incident when they were a child where they were attacked by a dog. Now, they become fearful whenever they hear a dog barking, and they feel like they need to drink to quell this feeling. A therapist may guide a patient to talk about the event and the impact that it has had on them, and in doing so reduce the amount of fear and related cravings that they feel around dogs.

Alcohol addiction treatment options

And, once the shakes set in, the alcohol cravings become more intense. Avoiding sugary snacks can also help in easing alcohol cravings. The most simple way of dealing with alcohol cravings is to reach out to another recovering alcoholic. They won’t judge you for experiencing thoughts how to reduce alcohol cravings about alcohol. They can also share their experience with you as to how they deal with cravings. Antabuse is unlikely to prove effective at maintaining long-term sobriety when it is taken by itself, so it should be taken as part of a complete program of recovery from alcohol.

This build-up leads to sudden and severe effects such as nausea, excessive vomiting, hyperventilation, headaches, chest pain, sweating and vertigo. A healthy diet is crucial for maintaining a balanced lifestyle, including when you’re trying to cut back on alcohol. A high-protein diet has been shown to reduce cravings for both food and alcohol in one study.

The more you’re invested in other people and your community, the more you have to lose—which will help you stay motivated and on the recovery track. Intensive outpatient programs focus on relapse prevention and can often be scheduled around work or school. Residential treatment involves living at a treatment facility while undergoing intensive treatment during the day. Keep a record of your drinking to help you reach your goal.

Offer your support along each step of the recovery journey. Research the kinds of treatment that are available and discuss these options with your friend or family member.

Exercise to diminish alcohol cravings

These feelings can be the result of alcohol’s effects on the brain. Alcohol depresses the nervous system and interferes with its ability to communicate with other parts of the body. At Find Addiction Rehabs, we understand the importance of establishing new habits and healthy diets while working the steps of sobriety. Most importantly, we understand the need for a strong support system during this process. In addition to the benefits of complex carbs, whole grain foods also contain excellent levels of protein , unsaturated fats, vitamins, and minerals. The fiber in whole grains like rice, quinoa, barley, and faro, keep one’s digestive system running properly and contributes to healthy gut flora . Leafy greens like spinach also contain amino acids, which are known to decrease both sugar and alcohol cravings.

• For severe alcohol addiction, the withdrawal symptoms can last between five and ten hours following the last drink.
• Dairy products in general are good sources of calcium, vitamin D, and other vitamins and minerals that you’ll need to replenish to stay healthy and fight cravings.
• Most people with alcohol problems do not decide to make a big change out of the blue or transform their drinking habits overnight.
• Although the available evidence is mixed or lacking in humans, the following natural supplements, herbs, and vitamins might help curb alcohol cravings .