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Anatomy of an alcohol craving
Cravings for any substance, by they alcohol, cigarettes, other drugs or non substances, such as gambling, are triggered by stimuli that have become associated with use over time. When you get a craving, there's almost certainly two forces your brain uses to make you do what you shouldn't.
The carrot.. A craving floods your brain with euphoric memories, happy times & good memories you've had. This is easy enough to resist and put off until another day. This pull on it's own isn't enough, there's an even more powerful force at play. ..& the stick It also tries to push you; it does that by making you feel stressed, edgy & anxious & by filling your mind with memories when you've felt particularly bad & fills you with anticipations of how bad you'll feel if you don't obey the order; you'll feel empty, you'll feel stressed, your mind will be racing, it'll be worse than a trip to the dentist or getting a blood test. *The pain that motivated you to drink, used or indulge in the first place may still be present It's obvious what the more powerful force is These two forces acting in tandem, pulling and pushing, seducing and coercing, it's no wonder people have such a hard time quitting. We as humans have two prime desires; seek pleasure, avoid pain. We'll do more to avoid pain than to seek pleasure. The evil monster that lives in the brain knows this. Why doesn't focusing on the longer term consequences work? Simple, because in that moment the short term pain is more unbearable than the longer term consequences. *Those lonely evenings are MORE PAINFUL & more dreaded than a day hungover· That's the truth for me, it's as simple as that. Another dirty trick cravings play Any memories of a nasty hangover are BLOCKED, not even on the radar, not recall-able. So the question is, how do people get past them? Is their willpower as muscular as a body builder, is it capable of exerting as much force as a digger's hydraulic cylinder, are these people running off a higher calorie fuel than glucose, like gasoline, diesel or kerosene? Are they made of metal not protein, lipids and phosphates? Are they Tibetan monks, are they ninjas? How do they do it!? Are they super-human? Or have they removed the part of the brain that generates cravings? Whatever it is, I would rather go for a blood test at the doctors than sit through a lonely evening forcing myself not to drink when there's cash. THAT's how painful it it. Anyway, rather than finger-wag, lets's talk about triggers, reasons why we started and things that might lessen that short-term pain that motivates. It might be hard to reply to this because of fear of what people might think, but if anything resonates with you, feel free to share your thoughts. Thanks and have a good evening. |
#2
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Re: Anatomy of an alcohol craving
It used to resonate with me but it doesn***8217;t now, I haven***8217;t drank in ages and will probably never drink again. It was easy to stop drinking if you know how
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