5 Easy Ways To Prevent Alcohol Cravings

The source of our alcohol addiction starts from our cravings. There are only two ways to deal with it - Either resist the cravings or prevent them in the first place. The latter is usually the less painful route. Read on the find out how to prevent these urges.

If you want to prevent alcohol cravings, the best way determine what causes it. These "trigger factors" can range from stress from the environment, people, our careers and our inter-personal relationships. Once we have identified the source of our urges, we can then take the necessary steps to prevent them. Here are 5 easy ways to prevent alcohol cravings:

1) Prevent "Just one drink" syndrome
Most of the time, our cravings are amplified after our first drink. Therefore, whenever attending social events, announce your intentions to abstain from alcohol by giving valid reasons (allergies, work etc.) to stop people from offering you drinks.

2) Stay away from "risky" environments
The best way to abstain from alcohol is to get it out of your sight. For example, if you have a need to stay socially connected, try healthier alternatives with your peers such as jogging, hiking, board games which do not involve drinks or the bar.

3) Keep yourself busy
When one has a definite purpose or is busy with other productive tasks, you will find that there will be no opportunity to even feel the cravings due to the busy state that you are in. However, try not to fill the gap with too stressful tasks as these may spur urges to drink alcohol.

4) Find a new obsession
Replace the old bad habit of drinking with a healthier alternative - Tea drinking sessions, puzzle games, sudoku. Once you start to incorporate a new habit into your lifestyle, it then becomes the norm as human beings are creatures of habit.

5) Reward yourself for being alcohol free
By far the best way to prevent cravings, give yourself a hefty reward for each day you stay alcohol free. Once we program ourselves to experience joy whenever we abstain from alcohol, we subconsciously wire ourselves to associate more joy with being alcohol free compared to drinking.