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Persistent, unwanted cravings create profound challenges for chemically dependent people who want to quit their habit. Paradoxically, their active, intentional efforts to control their cravings may actually block them from reaching their abstinence goals.
Now, abstainers can use more effective strategies to handle their urges for alcohol, nicotine, drugs and unhealthy foods. In fact, they can succeed sooner by practicing the skills that help long-distance runners complete their marathons.
The Craving Cycle
Every craving in the addictive cycle has four predictable phases. Knowing that these phases are highly predictable can help abstainers maintain their level of confidence when confronting an impulse or compulsion to consume. The four phases are: Phase 1 — Onset; Phase 2 — Increase; Phase 3 — Crest; and Phase 4 — Decrease.
Frequently, substance users get stuck in this craving cycle because they want their cravings to go away altogether. Mistakenly, they focus their efforts on only one of the four phases, thereby limiting their success by misdirecting their actions to control the crest of a craving (Phase 3).
Nearly all unsuccessful abstainers become alarmed that an unsatisfied craving may increase beyond their capacity to endure the distress. So, to prevent further distress, they use a very reliable tactic; they consume the substance. Quickly and reliably, the craving peaks and decreases.
Soon, however, craving returns for the cycle of onset, increase, crest and decrease. The would-be abstainers then react exactly as before, prolonging the addiction instead of ending it. Their misdirected actions to control the crest of a craving keep chemically dependent people stuck in the craving cycle.
Unfortunately, tactics aimed at controlling the crest do not eliminate any of the four phases of the craving cycle. Consuming the substance just makes the crest occur sooner and at a lower level than when a person continues to abstain. Both satisfied and unsatisfied cravings for alcohol, nicotine or drugs cycle through the same four phases.
Running a Marathon
Marathon runners experience intense abdominal pains during their long-distance event. Like cravings, each torso pain cycles through the same four, predictable phases of onset, increase, crest and decrease.
In the same manner as those who are trying to defeat a drug habit, marathoners wish the pains would go away altogether. Predictably, when a pain continues to increase, inexperienced runners use a very reliable tactic to control the crest; they quit the marathon. Soon, the pain peaks and decreases. Without mental preparation, these unsuccessful marathoners give in to pain just as unsuccessful abstainers give in to craving. The runners' tactic of "quit the race to stop the pain" blocks realization of their cherished goal, completing the marathon.
However, successful marathoners handle their cycles of pain with a more powerful strategy. They know that each phase is temporary, so they acknowledge the "wall of pain." Instead of limiting their attention to controlling the pain, they rivet their attention on completing the marathon. Confident that each phase is temporary, successful marathoners continue to run with the pain, running through the wall of pain. True to the cycle, their pains crest and decrease while they continue to run toward their goal.
Marathon runners know that they must continue to breach the wall of pain, for pains return repeatedly throughout a marathon. These pains may return in the same place or in different body locations, but successful marathoners run through each pain toward their goal while the cycles of pain begin, increase, crest and decrease.
Completing The Abstinence Marathon
Inexperienced abstainers behave as if they don't know about a very important characteristic of cravings. If left alone, cravings for alcohol, nicotine, drugs and unhealthy foods go away by themselves. In fact, every craving for a non-nutritious substance will peak and go away without any effort to control the craving.
People who have successfully quit smoking, coking, shooting up, or drinking will testify that 100 percent of their cravings for the substance have gone away. Yet, these people know that the craving will return. The difference comes when the craving returns; it simply cycles and fades away by itself again.
The increasing intensity of an unsatisfied craving is not an enjoyable experience at all, but fortunately, you do not have to enjoy a body sensation in order to allow the sensation to be there. Marathon runners don't enjoy their torso pains; they just accept them. They allow painful sensations to be there as they run through the wall of pain, over its crest, toward the completion of their long-distance goal.
For some of the minority of people who use alcohol or sedatives very heavily and continuously, withdrawal can pose a medical danger for which supervision is a must. For most substance users, however, abstinence will create intense distress only until the compulsion peaks and decreases.
Abstinence produces distress most intensely at the beginning of an abstinence marathon. Abstaining means that the intensity of a craving will increase for a longer period (Phase 2), the crest will be higher (Phase 3) and the craving will decrease later (Phase 4) than if an individual consumes the substance. Thankfully, with continued abstinence, cravings become less frequent (Phase 1), less intense (Phase 3) and decrease sooner (Phase 4) as they cycle through the same four, predictable phases. Some abstainers experience periodic impulses for the substance for the rest of their lives, but for continued abstinence, they allow each craving to cycle and go away.
Just as air bubbles pass through an aquarium without any assistance, cravings for non-nutritious substances pass through your body and go away by themselves. The exceptions to this pattern are cravings for healthful substances, such as carbohydrates, which do not go away by themselves. Not only is it helpful that your body initiates these urges, it is essential to your biological survival that you satisfy your hunger for healthful food groups.
Generating Power During Phase 2
If chemically dependent people have any power during the craving cycle, it is in that period of time between a craving onset (Phase 1) and a craving crest (Phase 3). During Phase 2, chemically dependent people either generate their power or waste it by how they react. Successful abstainers complete the abstinence marathon with Passive Power and Power Thinking while their cravings increase during Phase 2.
• Passive Power during Phase 2
Our culture places high value on action-oriented people who fix problems. On the other hand, passive people are devalued. Unfortunately for abstainers, however, taking quick, dynamic action to control the crest of a craving is exactly what keeps them stuck in the craving cycle. Contrary to our culture's action-oriented values, successful abstainers learn to do nothing about a craving, because active efforts to control the crest of a craving do not work as well as letting each craving fade away by itself. Just as marathoners have a course to run, cravings have a course to run, too.
Power and success are not derived by actively trying to control a craving, but by our passively letting each craving run its predictable course. Don't deny, resist or try to control a craving. Instead, just let each unsatisfied craving be there until it goes away, and it will totally go away without your doing anything.
• Power Thinking during Phase 2
By themselves, torso pains do not cause runners to quit a marathon. Likewise, cravings are not sufficient to cause a substance user to consume. If cravings alone were sufficient to cause substance use, no user would ever be able to quit consuming an addictive substance. The cause of consumption is not the craving itself, but the combination of craving plus victimizing thoughts. Unsuccessful abstainers think helpless thoughts as the craving increases during Phase 2. They rehearse thoughts such as, "I can't quit. This is too much for me." These self-victimizing thoughts will block success in your abstinence marathon.
With practice, long-distance runners learn to dismiss self-victimizing thoughts. If they allowed their minds to welcome such notions, they would abandon their goal of completing the marathon. Conversely, successful runners think powerful thoughts like, "This pain is temporary. I can run through the wall of pain. Just keep running. The pain will go away." Like successful marathoners, successful abstainers practice powerful thoughts like, "This craving is only temporary. I can handle the distress. Give it time. The craving will go away by itself."
Successful marathoners practice can-do thinking during their long-distance race, focusing on what they can do instead of what they can't do. If you focus on what you can do as your urges increase during Phase 2, you will be more successful in your abstinence marathon than if you focus on what you can't do. Stated simply, if you think you can quit consuming, or if you think you can't quit consuming, you're right!
Almost any runner can complete a marathon. In fact, even if you walk at your own pace, you can go the entire distance. Some people who cannot even walk actually complete long-distance marathons by tailoring their strategies to their own conditions. They avoid thinking self-victimizing thoughts in favor of powerful, goal-oriented thoughts. Similarly, a substance user can complete the abstinence marathon — by rehearsing powerful, goal-oriented thoughts during Phase 2, letting their cravings go away by themselves.
Though runners may not complete a marathon on first attempt, they go farther and last longer by rehearsing powerful thoughts instead of victimizing thoughts. The same applies to substance users in the abstinence marathon. They go farther toward success when they rehearse power thoughts and dismiss victimizing thoughts. Some abstainers set the attainable goal, "one day at a time" or "one craving at a time."
Dr. Wallace Wilkins serves as a psychologist, substance abuse professional and seminar leader. He speaks coast-to-coast and internationally about effective methods for individuals and organizations to create low-stress, low-conflict achievement. His presentation at the 1995 EAPA Conference was entitled "Disengaging from Cravings: Power and Powerlessness in the Addictive Cycle."
You can contact Dr. Wilkins at 206/284-1943, e-mail: Success@Take-Risks.com, or visit his website at: www.Take-Risks.com. |
