Online Rehab

1 min read

A craving is a wave

A craving feels like it will never go away. Yet it almost always lasts only a few minutes.

A craving works like a wave. It rises, gets stronger, peaks and then falls away. Usually that takes ten to twenty minutes. It feels longer, because your mind does everything it can to convince you it will only stop if you use.

With urge surfing you don't fight the wave. You watch it. Where do you feel the craving in your body? In your stomach, your throat, your hands? How strong is it on a scale of 0 to 10? You breathe calmly and watch the number change.

Every time you ride out a wave without using, your brain learns that cravings pass. Over time the waves get smaller and come less often.

It helps to do something with your hands or body: drink a glass of water, take a walk, wash your face or send someone a message.