Sober Tip Tuesday will be episodes where Courtney provides bite-size topics to help you in your sobriety journey. You can always listen to them when needed.
Sober Tip Tuesday will be episodes where Courtney provides bite-size topics to help you in your sobriety journey. You can always listen to them when needed.
Thank you so much for joining us. Today's Sober Tip Tuesday is brought to you by MD Logic Health, the trusted name behind the detox supplement. In today's fast-paced world, keeping our liver healthy is more crucial than ever. That's why MDLogic Health has crafted a powerful formula to support your natural detoxification process. Also, too, after quitting drinking, I highly recommend to detox that liver and start healing it. Introducing Liver Detox by MDLogic health, a potent blend of nature's most effective liver supporting ingredients. Their carefully selected formula includes milk thistle, known for its antioxidant properties and ability to promote a healthy liver function. They've also added alpha lipolytic acid, a key component in the body's metabolic process, ensuring your liver has what it needs to process and eliminate toxins efficiently. They didn't stop there They've also added dandelion root, and that further enhances your liver's health. With MD Logic Health Liver Detox, you're not just taking a supplement. You're making a commitment to a healthier liver and healthier you. It's time to give your liver the care it deserves, with the support of nature's most powerful detoxifying agents. Try MDLogic's Health Liver Detox and feel the difference it makes to your health and well being. Just make sure to visit mdlogichealthcom, or visit the link in the show notes below to take you to the website and make sure, as a show listener, you use code VIBES15 to save at checkout.
Speaker 1:
Hey, welcome to the Sober Vibes podcast. I am your host, courtney Anderson, and you are listening to episode 178. This is the last Sober Tip Tuesday in this series. We might return in the future, we'll see. You know me, I just like to shoot from the hip. So I hope you enjoyed these last six episodes of the Sober Tip Tuesday series, because I really wanted to just do short episodes where it was something you can listen to and be like okay, cool, nice start for season five and going into this sober summer you're going to have.
Speaker 1:
So my sixth topic in this series is about cravings. Specifically, this question is asked all the time. Okay, I'm going to give you some ways, some coping strategies with cravings. And if you are at the beginning of your journey, okay, the cravings are going to be there. Right, they are going to be there. You are in the middle of a detox, you are in the middle of post-acute withdrawal syndrome and remember, there's the immediate detox, which is like a hangover, correct? And then what happens with post-acute withdrawal syndrome is that's a process that could happen up to two years. I've said this before. Don't let me say up to two years, because that might not happen for you. Everybody is so different in this process that everybody's process of this is different, okay. So if you haven't looked into pause and all that, I highly recommend educating yourself in that so you can understand more of what's going on.
Speaker 1:
So if you're in the beginning of it and when I say beginning, I'm going to tell you this time frame okay, your first six months up to a year, it's not going to be as intense with these cravings like the first month of these cravings. It's not going to be as intense as it's going to be towards the end of year one, tense, as it's going to be towards the end of year one. But you have to remember, with cravings, think of the time that you were in your active relationship with alcohol. Okay, so if we're talking 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years, that just because you quit drinking one day, it does not mean that everything's just going to be A-OK the next day. So there is a process to that and just remember and cravings especially too it's not necessarily, it's not all a bad thing If you're like what the fuck? I quit drinking a month ago and I'm still having cravings. Well, yeah, correct you are, this is normal. And again, go back to the number of years alcohol was in your life and you consumed it right? So there is your body's going through the withdrawal, your body's having a response. It is also too habitual of what just happened of all those years of incorporating alcohol into your life.
Speaker 1:
So on Friday nights when you're having those cravings, it's like you need to look back and like, oh, fridays is when I did the most amount of my drinking. Fridays is when I was like, became my weekend warrior. Yeah, I didn't drink Monday or Sunday through Thursday, but Friday it was always on. So then your body too, and your brain, it's habitual of what you're gonna go through Fridays. I had the hardest time in my first 90 days of really. Fridays were my trigger of just like shit, how am I going to get through this?
Speaker 1:
But when you start getting through a couple of them and then you're like, okay, I can do it, you just have to start doing something different on the days that you're most likely triggered. Okay, I know a lot of us it could be every day, but a lot of us have a specific day where it's like God damn, I want to drink. Okay, so when are craving hits? So here are a couple coping strategies right, so distract yourself. Right, go for a walk. Start're going to get distracted of what's like okay, I did it. Go for more than 30 minutes if you need to, but you did something during that craving where it is distracting you. Right, you can do delay techniques, which meaning you can wait for 15 minutes before acting on a craving.
Speaker 1:
So that's where you can start practicing mindfulness, too, of like, okay, what's going to happen when this craving strikes? Like, okay, this craving strikes, let me talk this way out, or talk my way through this. And if I drink tonight, what am I going to feel like tomorrow? You've heard this phrase a lot. You've got to play the tape in your head You've got to play it over and over again of how you're going to feel like tomorrow. You've heard this phrase a lot. You've got to play the tape in your head You've got to play it over and over again of how you're going to feel tomorrow. But if you just look at it, like, okay, if I just get through another day, this is going to be one day more that it's easier and easier, and I just got to get consecutive days under my belt and to really make this a lifestyle change and a habit change. So distract yourself with the delay technique of just waiting. Okay, but I don't want you to be like 15 minutes is over, I'm going to go and drink.
Speaker 1:
You really have to think about what's going to happen and that shame game that's going to happen to you tomorrow that you're going to play with yourself and or another wasted day laying around feeling the same that you have felt for so many years previous to that. You really have to do something different if you want different results. Okay, you can do a relaxation technique. That's deep breathing. You can do some stretches, even if you want to drop down in some yoga poses and a child's pose, and just breathe. You can find breathing exercises on YouTube. That is all free for you to look up.
Speaker 1:
I am a huge fan of the square technique, the box technique, and you just think of a box. I believe it's breathe out for five or inhale for five, breathe out for five. That's how I do it. It might be breathe in for five, breathe out for seven and then just do it again, and I visualize a box and me going around the box. That has helped a lot, too for anxiety, and I know when cravings come up, that can induce anxiety as well.
Speaker 1:
Okay, going in a little bit deeper of a step of healthier habits? Okay, so stay fucking hydrated. Stay hydrated. A lot of the times, too, the cravings can come up because you could possibly be very dehydrated and or you are not full enough. Okay, this is where it's going to be beneficial for you, for your nutrition. Incorporate more vegetables in your day and drink water. First, it's 70% of people are dehydrated, and a lot too, because also, too like sugar crashes. Right For me, I like to have a steady blood sugar level, because I've experienced those dips before where it's like, oh my God, what is going on here? And then induced anxiety and it all has to play out with your blood sugar. So drink lots of water. That is also, too, that goes into. You can with the distraction technique of drinking water and, too, that will fill you up as well. Okay, and then again, role play scenarios to practice, to implement these coping strategies.
Speaker 1:
So, healthy habits, eating a little bit better, drinking lots more water, and if you are not using Relight, I die for some Relay. Okay, I think I've mentioned it before on this podcast, but it's a clean electrolyte and if you use code SOBERVIVES you can get 15% off. I will link that in the show notes below. But add it to your water because we are losing minerals, especially sweating it out or whatnot. You can use it too. I fill up my Stanley, I fill up one scoop, I put one scoop in my Stanley and we are a lot of mineral deficiencies in our bodies and it is actually beneficial for you to be using some type of electrolyte, again a cleaner one, and the Relight company. They are from Real Salt. So I can't even tell you, in the past year and a half almost I think almost two years at this point I've been using it. It's helped me decrease my decreased my migraines. I used to get leg cramps all the time. I don't experience that at nighttime before too like, so get it, I will put it, I will link it in the show notes. So add that to your water Again.
Speaker 1:
Deep breathing exercises, distract yourself walking, do some hobbies, maybe reading during that time. Okay, that is a list of coping strategies you can do when a craving comes up Calling a friend, talking to somebody on the phone, distracting yourself mentally outside of your own goddamn head, and I said this to you too in the relapse Sober Tip Tuesday. You got to distract yourself and you have to get out of your own head, because it's very easy to keep going down the rabbit hole and then just saying fuck it. And I don't want you to say fuck it. Also, too, with the cravings. Sometimes a craving might strike and you are not going to be able to do all of this right. You're not going to be able to be like, okay, let me think of my why, let me play the tape forward. Like you're going to be like, god damn, I want a drink.
Speaker 1:
Cravings will last anywhere from seven to 20 minutes. If you've ever experienced whatever you quit before, you can do this. So again, if you quit smoking before you quit drinking alcohol, you can do this. If you quit your eating disorder before you quit drinking alcohol, you can do this. Shopping problem, gambling problem you quit heroin. You can do this and you can get through it. And you are a tough fucking bitch. Keep saying that to yourself. Repeat it in the mirror I'm a tough fucking bitch.
Speaker 1:
Say that when the craving hits, that you don't need to constantly just give into the craving, right. So just stop yourself, take a pause and use one of these tools. Even if you need to stop yourself, take a pause and scream into a pillow, say this is really fucking hard, but I'm going to choose not to drink, I'm not going to cave into this. Then do that, do that, whatever works. Adult coloring books Start coloring during a craving.
Speaker 1:
That is why for so long, in those first 90 days that I sat in Mod Podge picture frames, I had to keep my mind distracted and I had to keep my hands busy to help me through that time. But then there would be times where, even to after. That's why I say, like up into that first year, that craving still strike. And I'm going to say this to you going into summer there, when the seasons change, I have a craving for alcohol. Is it as what it used to be, what it used to be like in those first 90 days? Absolutely not. Is it something that I need to practice? All of these steps? No, because guess what I haven't accepted?
Speaker 1:
That is just the part of this right, because I had such an issue with alcohol. I had such an emotional dependence, I was addicted to it and it is going to come up from time to time. Same thing like drinking drinks. They come up from time to time and it's just like, okay, am I craving this because I'm a little bit more stressed out? Or if it's because the weather gets nice and I still have those core memories of I'm going to sound like I'm more, core memories right, of sitting out on a patio, because I did that for so many days in a decade. That's a long time to be doing something. Right, like so you're not all of a sudden just going to be like, okay, I'm good because I put the alcohol down, and if you are good right now, amazing.
Speaker 1:
But when it ends up showing up because it always ends up showing back up for people, especially after the pink cloud pops for them, when it shows back up, that's when you need to listen to this episode again and be like okay, I need to do this and this because these cravings are going to strike at some point. That is why everybody's journey is so different and how their human body reacts after it's different from everybody else. Not everybody experiences cravings all day, every day, for 90 days. Right, not everybody gets on the pink cloud. It's all different. That's why there's different approaches to this path that you are on.
Speaker 1:
So just introduce some of these coping strategies during the cravings and know that you are not fucked up, that there's nothing wrong with you other than that you had this relationship with alcohol. There was this addiction. This is all what went with alcohol. There was this addiction. This is all what went, and you did it for a long time. It might not have been every day since you quit or since leading up to you quitting drinking, but at some periods of your relationship with alcohol, it could have been every day.
Speaker 1:
Right, I go back and I tell you guys all the time that I wasn't a daily drinker towards the end of my career For four years, I was trying to figure that out, but were there times previous to that four years that I was drinking every day? Oh my God, absolutely, absolutely. So it all looks different for people. So I hope this helped you and if it did always slide into my DMs, and let me know on Instagram at Sober Vibes, if you're not following along there, follow along and just let me know, too, which tip helped you to handle your cravings. And just know that it's okay if you have to scream out loud this fucking sucks. I did it. I've been there.
Speaker 1:
I understand that this is not an easy part of the process and a lot goes on that first year. But if you keep choosing another day without alcohol, I will tell you it gets better and better. That's why, when you keep doing the moderation game, okay, or it's hard for you because, yes, you're figuring out this relationship with alcohol, but you're fully not detoxing this out of your system. So your nervous system needs a chance for you to have somewhat of a baseline and see what it feels like for some normalcy. And even to that normalcy will take some time. Again, going back to pause where your whole mind, body and soul has to level out and even out after the years of putting such a poisonous, addictive substance in your body. Again, that last part, no shame, right, it's just that's facts. So you've got to give your body a chance to heal and get to a normal level, as always. Again, I hope this episode helped you.
Speaker 1:
I hope you enjoyed the Sober Tip Tuesday series. Check out our sponsor If you need any resources. Those links are always in the show notes below. Also, to join the Sobriety Circle, that is my group coaching community and I actually did a full workshop on cravings, which is longer, and all the workshops since January of 2024, you get to rewatch. Those are recorded and they have been very helpful to many of the women in the sobriety circle. So if you want to sign up for the sobriety circle, it is now $25 for the month. Cancel at any time. I did decrease the meeting, so we meet Tuesdays at 7.30 pm Eastern Standard Time and then there's always a workshop. It's always one Friday out of the month but, like I said, if you can't join that one, it is recorded for you so you can go back and listen Tons more in there. If you are looking for help on your sober journey, it's a great place to be. Okay, keep kicking ass and taking names and I will see you on the next episode.
