How To Deal With Cravings

Do you, at times, have a strong desire to do or to get something, a desire that you feel you just can’t control? This desire is called a craving. It is something that your heart longs for and as long as the longing remains unfulfilled, you tend to go through emotional turmoil. Trying to curb these cravings could, at times, be painful and even exhausting. This is especially true when you are trying to fight a bad habit, such as smoking, and face frequent relapses. Mark Twain once said: “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.” This quip might strike a responsive chord in you, because there might be something that you might be trying to resist for quite sometime, but to no avail. These cravings could range from something as simple as food to bigger things, such as drugs and tobacco. However, no matter what the craving is for, following some simple tips to control it will help you win the fight against your inner drives and desires. Read on to explore how to deal with cravings.

How To Control Your Cravings

No matter what you are craving for, remember that there is a big difference between desire to fight the craving and actually taking steps to fight it. When you have decided to take active steps, it is better to chalk out an action plan as well.
Write down the cravings that tend to overtake you most frequently. There might be triggers that set them off. Write down the triggers besides each individual craving. For example, if you are on a diet, reading recipes of burgers, pizzas and foods with high caloric content will get you craving for them.
Once you have identified the triggers, analyze situations that you can avoid, so that you do not come across these triggers.
Keep yourself busy. The mind takes time to heal and so do the cravings, which are associated with earlier memories, habits or desires. You will find that, as you keep yourself busy, the chances of your mind relapsing into an idle state are less. In time, you will find that the intensity of cravings has reduced.
Monitor your progress. Take a few minutes everyday to reflect on how successful you have been, at fighting off the craving. If there were relapses, when you gave in to cravings, write down the circumstances led to them. They can be included among the triggers and you can try your best to avoid those circumstances, until you have better control over yourself.
Get the help of others, if you feel that you cannot handle your cravings on your own. Inform your family and friends about how you are trying to deal with them. This will help them avoid, even unwittingly, being the cause of aggravating or triggering off your cravings.
Be realistic and balanced. Remember that you will not be able to overcome your cravings overnight. Some of them might stem from habits that have been developed over years. Therefore, you will need to give yourself time to get over them completely. Expect relapses and do not be too hard on yourself, if you give in to cravings periodically. You will find that, in time, you will be able to have better control over them and fight them completely.

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