I want to share how I got over one of my really bad cravings for alcohol. It was just one night, but it was pretty bad and it would have been a situation when I was drinking that I would have reached for the drink.

I had just come home from a really bad day at work. Feeling completely defeated and disappointed by something that had happened and as it often is in my position, there was not a lot of support from my immediate supervisor. I started thinking at work that day, boy do I want a drink. I came home and unloaded on my husband. I ate some dinner and started crying again and that’s when the urge came on super strong. Those horrible thoughts (Cindy) telling me “you really need a drink, you deserve it, look at the horrible day you had?”

I started drinking hot herbal tea almost from the beginning and usually make a pot every dinner. I had my tea and I just grabbed my cup and held its warm contents cupped in my hands and I started doing self-talk. It sounded something like this: “what are you wanting from the drink? what good is it going to do? Think about how bad you’ll feel in the morning, guilt, shame and physically bad. Also, how is ONE glass of wine help? You know you’ll not stop at just one. Then you’re heading back down the rabbit hole. Think about your line in the sand! If you drink tonight, tomorrow you have to start over at ZERO. Is it really worth it?”

I’ve not experienced a craving that bad before or since being alcohol free. I’m expecting that it won’t be my last, but I know I’ve got tools in my bag to help me through it. I can go back to this night and remind myself how I got through one of the worst cravings I experienced without reaching for the drink. And honestly, it wasn’t horrible. It didn’t take hours of doing the self-talk, I got over it in about 10 minutes and moved on with my evening. In a future post, I’m going to talk about tools in your tool bag. How I learned the importance of having a number of tools that you can reach for in times of need.