Fighting the urge to drink alcohol is exhausting. And exhaustion leads to drinking.
In this episode, we chat with Mary, DeeAnn, and Billie about how to curb alcohol cravings. Whether you’re working your way through Dry January and it’s turning out to be tougher than you thought, or you’re just starting out on a life long sober journey, we’re armed with the tools and mindset shifts you need to get through the cravings and urges, take back your power, and gain the strength you need to keep moving forward.
In this episode:
- Changing patterns and disrupting old routines
- Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) including Naltrexone
- Finding a therapist to overcome trauma that causes cravings
- Learn to ride the roller coaster without fighting it
- Cravings are signals and information about unmet needs
- Find someone to talk to about the urges
- Shifting to a healing mindset
- Understanding the physiological and mental effects of alcohol and withdrawal
- Take the option to drink away
- Building sober muscles – gaining strength from each craving
- Learning to change your language to create empowerment
- Changing the associate with certain activties and alcohol
- The “Alcohol Monster” tool for making cravings feel empowering
In the episode, DeAnn mentions a blog post where she shares tips for cravings. Check it out here!
Looking for more tools to fight cravings? Check out these other podcast episodes to support your sobriety!
DeAnn is a human in recovery for just under 5 years. She has a non-profit committed to advocacy for those struggling with substance use disorder. Her podcast, Show Up and Stay, focuses on the space between recovering from a substance and starting the steps to healing your life. She also has a special project underway: Sober Positive Workplace, which focuses on helping organizations normalize recovery and substance-free individuals in our workplaces and other shared spaces. DeAnn is currently working on her Masters with Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies and is especially focused on integrated recovery options and counseling services inclusive of resources for co-occurring disorders.
Sober Positive Workplace showcase page on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/96108017/admin/feed/posts/
Billie hails from the great state of Oregon in the greater Pacific Northwest. After a career in law enforcement, she now works as a professional elder justice subject matter expert, as well as an instructor in Oregon’s law enforcement academy. She is also a domestic violence advocate for her local police department and meets with survivors of intimate partner violence to provide resources and safety planning options. Billie continues her advocacy by being involved in her states suicide prevention and awareness programs and facilitates her local chapter of a suicide bereavement group for families who have lost their loved ones to suicide. She is wife, mom to two wonderful kids and an avid dog lover.
Mary Baird is a farmer’s daughter from rural North Carolina. Leaving home at 19, she traveled to the Middle East and the Balkans for several years, engaged in humanitarian and post-war relief efforts. Returning to NC, she spent 20 years in the hospitality industry while teaching yoga and personal training on the side. She a son & daughter, one who has flown the coop for the Army Reserves and another is a sophomore in high school.
Celebrating 18 months of epic sobriety, Mary returned to her farm in 2023, where she cares for 40+ foster animals and has found a new calling as a post-partum doula. She also co-moderates a recovery group of 3000 blessed sober and sober-curious souls. Mary is a big believer in daily play and “practical” magic!
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