On Addiction: Cravings
Welcome to the first of our multi-part series on understanding addiction. We are honored to hand this blog space over for the next several weeks to Chrissy LaCivita, LCSW, LCDC-intern. Chrissy is an experienced addiction therapist who has supported clients in their addiction recovery across all levels of care and is the newest member of our counseling team, here at Salyer Counseling Group.
In this series, we will take a dive into some well know and not-so-well-known aspects of addictions recovery to set you up for success.
Early recovery can be full of excitement and fear. For those who have been there, that may be an understatement! In this series are a few pointers to be aware of when you first get sober that no one instinctively knows and are taught in treatment centers around the globe. Today we will take a deeper dive into cravings.
CRAVINGS
As I'm sure you have heard, the first 30 days of sobriety are the hardest and, when we are about 5-24 hours after our last hit/drink, it may seem unfathomable to add another 29 days together. But what makes those first 24 hours so hard? Cravings are a phenomenon only known to those who struggle with the disease of addiction, be it to alcohol, to cocaine, to shopping, or to video games. Cravings are defined as a powerful desire for something and oftentimes are interchangeable with the word urge in substance abuse treatment. (1)
Although the science behind addiction is ever-growing, one thing we do know is that addictive substances like alcohol or amphetamines flood the brain's reward center with dopamine after every use. Dopamine is the “feel-good” neurotransmitter and plays a huge role in our ability to feel pleasure. After every drink or every hit, our brain is inundated with an insane amount of dopamine that we cannot produce naturally.
So, the brain learns that to feel good, all I have to do is drink another beer or smoke another joint. The association becomes stronger and stronger and then we decide it is time to get sober. Sounds all well and good, right? Unfortunately, the brain doesn't forget so easily and will remind us of how good it feels chemically to keep using. This process is craving, is strongest in the first 24 hours to 30 days after our last use, and continues to be present for about the first 2 years of sobriety.
DON’T PANIC.
Yes, 2 years sounds like a long time but how long have we been using? A few years, maybe a few decades? We've trained our brains to chemically need substances in order to feel good. It makes sense when we look at it objectively that it’s going to take a minute for our brain to not associate substances with feeling good. The only thing we can do when we are subjectively experiencing this and understand it takes time and it does get better! But it does get worse before it gets better...
COPING SKILLS
Coping skills are the answer to this issue.
What coping skills are entirely different for each person. Distraction techniques seem to be the best first line of defense in early recovery and making sure to stay busy so you can’t hear the little voice in the back of your head telling you to call your dealer.
AA meetings, reading, hiking, or eating out with friends are all different distraction techniques, and the list is infinite. The Swiss Cheese Model suggests that each coping skill works about 75% of the time. Like Swiss cheese, each skill has some holes in it where our addictive thinking can slip through. If we add enough of these slices of cheese together, however, the holes get smaller and smaller until they are virtually non-existent. If I can collect enough coping skills to utilize in times of need, I would have to make a relapse happen or create that hole in the cheese. Add up as many coping skills as you can and try to implement some every day so when you come to a craving, you’ll have to get through that list of coping skills first.
- Written by Christina LaCivita, LCSW, LCDC-intern
If you are interested in learning more about addiction and understanding more about the symptoms and challenges of sobriety, stay with us as we unpack a different element of addiction recovery over the next few weeks.
To learn more about addiction therapy services, our addiction therapists, or other counseling services at our Arlington, Tx base therapy practice, contact us today. Or click here to learn more about Chrissy and her experience in addiction recovery therapy services.
