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Posted: December 23, 2016, 12:08 AM
I am having a lot of trouble fighting off cravings.
Not sure what to do. In 12-step meetings they say there is no way to help someone with a craving. Maybe that is true, but I do not want to give up. | ||
Posts: 529
Joined: October 15, 2016
Posted: December 25, 2016, 7:21 AM
please join SMART recovery program online and read trough material they have especially cravings and triggers, they do have steps in helping you fight cravings ... as NA is more spiritual based SMART is more scientific ... try pls it does help as you apply those steps it gets easier and you learn what to do. I smoked crack for years then I stopped and never looked back , this was around 9 or 10 or more years ago, i dont count how long, i dont know when I stopped I dont think about it or crave it. I can say i will never smoke again! I cant remember why I ever smoked crack on first place. I am wishing you all the best in your fight against this devil and I believe you can do it just need to find right help if stopping on your own is not working for you!
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Posted: December 27, 2016, 12:16 AM
I tried SMART awhile back.
To be honest the people involved were so dogmatic and focused on having the only true scientific way of recovery that I found it hard to stomach. | ||
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Posts: 529
Joined: October 15, 2016
Posted: December 27, 2016, 6:43 AM
just because something worked for one person it doesnt need to work for another one but you just have to keep going, looking and trying out different approaches. I tried NA and because of religious aspect it didn't work for me so i tried to stop on my own without outside help and it worked, probably those organizations like NA or SMART or others wouldn't agree about the way how i done it but I cant care less , most important it worked and I am free of that s***. You an sit next to me and smoke how much you want it doesnt do anything for e, actually i got aversion to any drugs that will make me feel high ... one thing it stuck with me from recovery book is when they say to find out exactly what we like about drug we use and try to get that feeling from doing something else.
of course you can fight off cravings, we all had to do it, they last for few min so its just about having safety net in place when cravings come. For me was mostly music / dancing, whenever i had it i would put music on , blasting and dance (wasnt popular with neighbors lol ) cravings comes less and less until they are gone all together. Eah tie i wouldn't give in i would treat myself to something small like cake or coffee in Starbucks. because i dont know you i cant tell you what to do when you have cravings but just dont sit around and think too much about it.. to me in beginning it helped not to talk about it and stop glamorizing This post has been edited by Bonnie5 on December 27, 2016, 6:53 AM | ||
Posts: 433
Joined: December 14, 2009
Posted: December 27, 2016, 1:15 PM
Rebozo,
Glad to see you came back, I hope you do again. There are so many things you can do. First, just to occupy some time you could read the thread "recoveredcrackhead" Yes it's my story. I would also ask that you share a little more about yours and how you came to be involved with crack. While your at it, find some one to hold your money. Be Well Larry -------------------- All gods send their drunks to AA My story.. https://www.addictionrecoveryguide.o...ST&f=16&t=63644 
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Posted: December 29, 2016, 11:38 PM
For me the cravings come pretty consistently for a week or two with increasing intensity. It just gets very hard to keep hanging on. I usually end up using just to get it over and done with.
I had a sponsor from 12-step recovery who I am still in touch with. He can always tell when I am going through a craving period and does not appreciate me calling him at such a time. I guess I need to figure out a what point I pass the threshold into craving so that I can know when to stop calling anyone in NA or other fellowship. The thing I hate about 12-step recovery is that you cannot ask for help at the time when you most need it. | ||
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Posts: 529
Joined: October 15, 2016
Posted: December 30, 2016, 9:23 AM
s*** sorry but its unbelievable you cant have help from your group or sponsor when you most need :( as i said i never used 12 steps and was only few times at meetings so i dont know about rules you have but honestly think its unreasonable you cant have help with cravings when every recovery program and every organization that helps with drug problem usually concentrate on those ... learning how to deal with cravings how to recognise and hopefully stop or avoid those is big part of recovery ...its where you relapse ... so tell me please what is their advice to you at the times like this?
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Posted: December 30, 2016, 9:33 AM
My sponsor says, "Get off the phone and get on your knees." Prayer is how you deal with craving.
It does make sense, since one can easily trigger another addict by talking about cravings. And probably they are right when they say there is no way you can stop someone with a craving. | ||
Posts: 1764
Joined: June 27, 2016
Posted: December 31, 2016, 7:42 PM
try smart recovery again. maybe it did not click in the past. maybe it will now. look for information about cravings. as you are reading write a list of things to do. you have to build up a wall of resistance. when your immune system is up and working well, you will be able to put off or distract yourself from the cravings. Also - if you read about and understand the underlying medical reasons for cravings, you may be able to resist them better.
knowing they are temporary. knowing that every time you use, you reset the craving bar. you have to get past the longest time you have been clean without using. you don't get to the point where you have no cravings bc you keep resetting the bar. vitamins, supplements, food for snacks, water, sleep, exercise. stock pile your arsenal | ||
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Posted: January 2, 2017, 11:29 PM
I think what I really need is someone talk to,
They both expect you to do it on your own--or rather with the worksheets or higher power, both of which for me are alone. Is there any service or something where I can hire someone to sit with me or talk on the phone when cravings come? | ||
Posts: 176
Joined: August 24, 2014
Posted: January 3, 2017, 5:05 AM
Hi robozo.
That is what sponsors do. Maybe you should consider changing sponsor | ||
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Posted: January 4, 2017, 1:31 AM
I was always told that a sponsor's responsibility was to help a sponsee through the steps.
And because they are themselves addicted, one needs to be wary of triggering one's sponsor. | ||
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Posts: 529
Joined: October 15, 2016
Posted: January 4, 2017, 3:57 PM
i talked to somebody who has sponsor as well and this person have great relationship with sponsor who is always just 1 call away to help with advice or just listen , no problem with talking about cravings . what about going to AA instead of NA or finding another group which will be more supportive in your tie of need? maybe to change your sponsor is not bad idea, having somebody who is been clean for number of years somebody who wont have problem with cravings and in that can help you with yours. I am clean for at least 8 years but probably is more like 10 years and I can talk about coke and cravings until I a blue in face it just doesnt do anything to me , certainly it doesnt make me crave and that is why i am suggesting somebody for sponsor who has many years of abstinence.
Good Luck! | ||
Posts: 2616
Joined: January 4, 2008
Posted: January 4, 2017, 4:12 PM
Dude...any other groups in your area ? Coke not my doc usually...I'm primarily opiate based ..and on heroin board....but get cravings..like you. .they get so bad sometimes I just use to sometimes get it over with...I belong to an AA group that's a bit of a mix...good people. ..sometimes you have to try a few groups ..and a sponsor whose strong and long enough in their sobriety to handle you...I have never ever been told to not call when I'm craving....that's exactly when you do need to talk to someone. ..my sponsor has always listened...gets me out of myself...has no problem with doc or meds if they help...doxipine. .naltrexon. ..he's patient and works with me...makes me laugh...and works the steps with me. ..maybe look around a bit for a new sponsor if this one isn't helping you help yourself...we're all different. ..I don't particularly like NA on some levels ..but it could just be you need a different group...hang in there. ..it's a struggle... but we get there in our own way and time...cravings suck...it's a cycle...I have a hard time with it too...but I do what I can and have good people who have faith in me when i don't have faith in myself...
Peace Con | ||
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Posted: January 5, 2017, 2:20 AM
I have had a number of sponsors (and all of them were in AA as well as NA or CA or CMA). All of them (as well as every fellowship I ever attended) agreed that you cannot do anything when someone gets to the point of having cravings.
I think without that, meetings would be overrun with people saying they are having cravings. I used to go all the time when I had cravings and have a feeling a lot of other people did too. But being responsible and not risking the recovery of others is an important principle--at least according to sponsors I had. | ||
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Posts: 2616
Joined: January 4, 2008
Posted: January 5, 2017, 3:34 AM
Any of those sponsors ever told you to stop make excuses already ? You want help...we offered....
..you want to whine...that's on you. This post has been edited by constantine on January 5, 2017, 3:37 AM | ||
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Posted: January 5, 2017, 3:44 AM
Asking people in 12-step recovery to go against their program is not a suggestion I am comfortable with.
If what I need for my recovery is not something they can provide, the answer is not to get them to do it anyway. The answer is to look elsewhere. You may think that is whining. I think it is integrity and respect. I am sure that there are people not in the program who are willing to help, I just need to find them. But no way am I going to do anything that is going to damage a method of recovery that is working for someone. | ||
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Posts: 2616
Joined: January 4, 2008
Posted: January 6, 2017, 12:01 PM
I think that's what we said
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Posted: January 6, 2017, 1:17 PM
Sorry. I thought you were suggesting that I try to get people in 12-step groups to help with this. I know there are people like your sponsor who do not follow the program strictly, but I could not feel good about that.
And what do you do? Go to AA and say, "I'm looking for a sponsor who ignores what the program suggests."???? | ||
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Posted: January 7, 2017, 9:39 PM
Even though I was not serious when I asked if I should say "I'm looking for a sponsor who ignores what the program suggests," I sort of tried it.
I said that the stuff that takes me down is the stuff that we are not supposed to discuss with people in the program. No one bit at that, but I realized that even if I cannot say certain things at meetings, I can indicate a willingness to discuss them privately. I am having a tough night. I have been having thoughts about using all day long, which usually means all my energy tonight will have to be focused on not picking up. Even if I do not make it tonight, I at least will give it a good try. | ||
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