Addiction and Recovery - Answering the Question - How Long Will I Have Cravings?

Recovering people are often troubled by comparing their own experiences to the experiences described in 12 step meetings by others. They may have some unexpressed fears about whether or not their recovery is proceeding as quickly "as it should". A common concern is the persistence of "cravings" or "urges to drink/use".

Generally speaking the longer that you are sober, the fewer cravings you will have and the less intense they will be. It takes quite awhile for the drugs (including alcohol) to leave your system and as it does, intense cravings can occur. The length of time that you experience cravings from physiological responses to detox depends upon a number of variables including length of time that you used, the types of drugs consumed, the amounts, and the frequency of use. With cravings based on detox, as your body rids itself of the chemical, the less the cravings. With abstinence persisting over time, the less frequent and intense the cravings. Keep in mind that for your body to detox, you must be abstinent from all mood altering drugs. You can't switch drugs of choice and actually detox your body.

Cravings can persist after detox because they can be triggered by emotional, olfactory, visual, auditory, and other sensory experiences. When you have one of these sensory experiences, it can trigger a "conditioned response" like Pavlov's dogs salivating to the sound of the bell. This is an important issue because these "conditioned responses" must be "extinguished" for long term recovery to occur.

An example: If your drink of choice is Jack Daniel and you see a Jack Daniel bottle, and/or smell the poured drink, it can be a "trigger" for a craving to occur. If you are driving down the block where your drug connection lives, those visual cues can trigger a craving. People in early recovery are often triggered by music that was associated with their drinking/using. These events (seeing booze, driving past familiar drug environments, other sensory cues) will continue to happen.

When you find yourself in a position where you used to use the chemical for dealing with (or not dealing with) something, you "miss" the effect of the drug and "crave" it. As you apply living/coping skills to the daily issues of your life, the less you will "miss" the drug.

Eventually, as you resist the triggers and cravings and do not use/drink, the strength of the association between the cues and the drinking/drugging will be all but eliminated, and the cravings will very infrequently occur.

Living/coping skills do not magically appear when you get sober. They develop through consciously applying the principles of recovery to your life and circumstances, identifying what your problem areas are and deliberately addressing those, then continuously practicing the new "skills" over time.

Many people in early recovery, report that they have continued to experience fairly frequent cravings into the beginning of the second year of abstinence. The cravings fade dramatically after several months, and will sometimes reappear briefly from time to time.

Having cravings does not necessarily mean that you are not working a good program of recovery. It is simply part of addiction and early recovery. If frequent and intense cravings persist into extended abstinence and recovery, additional counseling or living skills development may be appropriate.

If you or someone that you love needs help for addiction, either as an addict or as a family member affected by addiction, help is available. The educational information on my website are available to you. My Ebooks, "Understanding Cross Addiction to Prevent Relapse", "Preventing Addiction Relapse: Protecting Your Recovery in Post Surgery Pain Days", "The Recovering Person's Guide to Surviving and Thriving Through The Holidays Without Losing Your Sobriety or Your Sanity" are available for purchase and download at http://www.peggyferguson.com/ServicesProvided.en.html

My website, a work in progress has numerous articles on Addiction and Recovery, Marriage, Sexual Addiction, Mental Health, Getting Help, and Skill Development. Other informational resources on my website include a Recommended Readings page, a Links page, an "Ask Peggy" column, and Surveys. To sign up for a newsletter that will alert you to additional informational opportunities on this topics or others, go to http://www.peggyferguson.com

Dr. Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D., LADC, LMFT, Marriage/Family Therapist, Alcohol/Drug Counselor, Writer, Trainer, and Consultant, providing professional counseling services in and around Stillwater, Oklahoma. Phone consultation is available to other professionals and to family members seeking education and information.

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