5 Ways to Crush Crystal Meth Cravings
April 6, 2011
Crystal meth addiction cravings hit in waves. You may feel strong after crystal meth rehab and stay committed to your recovery for months and then suddenly feel overwhelmed by the urge to get high again. Here are five ways to nip those cravings in the bud and avoid relapsing when you’re doing well in crystal meth addiction recovery.
- Remind yourself what you have to lose -and what you have to gain. Get a stack of 3×5 note cards or create a journal just for the purpose of creating two lists. On each note card (or page), write one thing that you will lose if you relapse on crystal meth. Write as many as you can think of: your child, your spouse, your job, your mental health, your home. In the back half of the notebook or on a different set of note cards, write all the things that you have to gain when you avoid relapse: a new career, keeping your family, maintaining friendships, getting a promotion, going on vacation, staying out of jail. Whenever you feel tempted to use or start to rationalize that getting high “just one time’ will be okay, take a look at what you have to gain by remaining clean and sober and what you have to lose by abusing crystal meth.
- Vent your stress. Long before you feel tempted to use crystal meth, talking about the issues that are causing you stress in your life can help you to release the pent up frustration long before you consciously begin planning a relapse. You can hire a psychotherapist to listen and help you come up with an actionable plan or, if you have supportive friends or a sponsor, you can go to them. Make sure to vent even the smallest frustrations that seem to linger in order to avoid a buildup of irritation or upset that could manifest in relapse.
- Utilize stress management techniques. In addition to talking, there are a number of other stress management techniques that you can utilize to help you decrease your stress on a daily basis and avoid an overflow of emotion or feelings of being overwhelmed. Taking yoga classes, working out regularly, eating healthy, getting a good night’s sleep and maintaining a regular sleep schedule can all work to increase your tolerance level and diminish the severity of emotions that threaten your recovery.
- Distract yourself. Emotions are fleeting. When you are in the moment, you can feel like the only reasonable response is to relapse on crystal meth, but if you distract yourself by going to a movie, going out to eat, or leaving the situation and changing your location, then you can shift your mindset and your mood will follow.
- Visualize yourself living the life that is only possible without crystal meth. You can be anything you want to be. It takes steady focus and dedication and that is impossible with drug addiction. Remember that your highest quality of life comes from staying away from crystal meth forever. Visualize yourself living the life that you’ve always dreamed of and make it so.
