Managing Cravings and Urges to Use Substances

Abstract

Cravings can be overt, so that we are aware of them, or they can be covert and show up in indirect ways such as irritability. Cravings tend to be more frequent and stronger in the early phases of recovery. Cravings for substances are triggered by something external (people, places, events, experiences, or objects) or internal (feelings, thoughts, or memories). Cravings vary in intensity from low to severe, and also in how they show in thoughts or how they make one feel physically. The goals of this chapter are to learn strategies that will help clients prevent or manage their cravings, to begin tracking cravings daily over the next few months, and to identify the things that trigger client cravings in order to plan coping strategies.