Top 10 Tools for When a Craving Hits (all of which take 5 minutes or less)

Cravings are like sudden weather changes appearing quickly, feeling so intense, and in the moment they feel like they will last forever. But here’s the truth: most cravings peak within 5 minutes and pass whether you act on them or not….. So the key is having tools ready for those moments and more importantly USING them! Here’s the top 10 recommendations for swerving a craving….

✨ The 4D Method: Delay, Distract, Drink, Deep Breath

This is one of the most reliable methods of navigating cravings, especially in early sobriety. How is it done I hear you say??…..

1. Delay drinking for just 5 minutes, cravings rise and fall like waves.

2. Distract yourself with something sensory: cold water on your face, step outside whatever the weather, move your body (I recommend turning the music up LOUD) and dance for one song.

3. Drink something non-alcoholic to break the ritual. Make a sweet tea or fill a water bottle up and hydrate.

4. Deep breaths to reset your nervous system, there’s more on breathing exercises below.

Practicing the 4D method interrupts the normal  “urge - action” cycle and gives your brain time to rationalise.

✨ Box Breathing

A grounding breath pattern used by athletes, therapists, and military. There’s app’s you can get that talk you through this if you need some assistance such as “Calm” and “Headspace.”

The process goes like this;

Inhale 4 seconds - Hold 4 - Exhale 4 - Hold 4.

Repeat four times.

This instantly slows your heart rate and shifts your body out of panic mode. I’ve used this breathing technique many times in the past to help with panic attack symptoms too!

✨ Urge Surfing

Cravings lose their power when you observe them instead of fighting them. Self awareness is key. I remember the first craving I sat through so clearly. I was in my bath and I cried the whole way through but I knew what it was and I knew it would pass, that took the power out of it and it gave me stronger for the next time.

Tell yourself “This is a craving. It’s a wave in my body. I’m not the wave I’m the one watching it.” Noticing where you feel the craving in your body, its temperature, its movement and how it changes minute by minute can help too.

This method turns the craving into a passing sensation rather than a command you must obey.

✨ Text Someone the Truth

Connection kills cravings quickly. Text a safe person to let them know “Craving right now. Just checking in.” You don’t need to explain or even need an answer, you just need not to be alone with the urge.

✨The 90-Second Reset

Emotional surges last 90 seconds unless we feed them with thoughts. So instead of feeding the thoughts choose one of the following;

1. Listen to a favourite song

2. Do a 1-minute meditation

3. Record a quick voice note

This will give your brain a new focus while the craving fizzles out.

✨ Cold Shift

A physical shock that resets your system and does it fast. You can try cold water on your wrists, splash your face or even hold something chilled. This will initiate the “dive reflex,” which calms the nervous system instantly. There is lots more information on why cold therapy is good for people in recovery on my blog page, but back to cravings for now!

✨ Play It Forward (one of my favourite techniques)

The craving focuses on the next 5 seconds. You need to shift that focus on the next 5 hours.

Time to think about how you will feel if you drink? How you’ll feel in 30 minutes, 2 hours, tomorrow morning….. and on the flip side if you don’t? How proud, grounded, and relieved you’ll feel later. To date I never regretted not drinking!!! The “play it forward” method helps pull you out of craving tunnel vision.

✨ Ask the 3 Magic Questions

These 3 questions are designed to bring you back into self-awareness rather than autopilot.

Firstly, what am I feeling? Secondly what do I actually need? Lastly what will help in the next 5 minutes?

The craving becomes information, not a command. I learned to find cravings a really helpful tool in time, to me they started to mean “what’s happening here that is causing me to want to block things out” giving myself the chance to notice behaviour patterns that lingered well beyond their sell by date!

✨ The 5-Item Task

Pick a tiny action such as; fold 5 items, wash 5 dishes, tidy 5 things or walk for 5 minutes. Movement breaks mental loops, and small wins boost self-control so it’s an all round winner. The task needs to be small and easy so that it doesn’t feel overwhelming.

✨ Self-Compassion Phrase

“This is hard, and I’m doing my best. I don’t need to be perfect, just present.”

Shame fuels cravings. Self-kindness weakens them. When your in the habit of being kinder to self and accepting this craving will pass your on the road to recovery.

✨ Cravings, the take away

Cravings are not signs of failure, they are signs of change. Every time you ride out a craving, you strengthen the part of you that wants to heal and recover. Remember you won’t have to fight the whole night, the whole week, or the whole journey… You just need to win the next 5 minutes.