I agree that it sgould be directed towards cocaine users. Gizzy has told me that many of the cocaine users don't post but they read and send PMs.
U could submit that one for cocaine specifically...there is not alot in the health pages on cocaine.....it has more info directed at cocaine specifically
OK this is more detailed. I looked at the one in there plus this article originally was written for cocaine use we will leave it intacted
yey...but most here are narcotics so I just took the word "cocaine" out...everything else is the same....sorry giz but i was trying to get it to apply to everyone because it really helps with all cravings and not just cocaine...it is the dopamine thing....and it applies to all cravings for drugs and or alcohol..
i just looked at it, it's there but it's not as detailed as the one avis put above. maybe it could go in the health pgs as coke cravings.
I am sorry it is called...How to intervene on a craving episode...it has been viewed 313 times
It is called Intervention on Cravings...cathy submitted it and i put it on there several months ago...but i took the word cocaine out so it could really apply to everyone
I 3rd the motion. It needs to be in there if it isn't.
avis ty for putting this up. i just looked and don't see it in the health pages and i think it should be. it is a great read for those battling this drug. so many great pieces of advice on this thread:) and so detailed. this does help. ty again. it sounds like there is a lot going on inside our minds when this cravings hits, damn, no wonder my mind goes blank, lol
I cant find it in the health pages what is it listed under.
avis, thisis in the health pages. thanks
Stage 2: Trigger Events For Cocaine Craving
There are four primary types of triggers that activate immediate craving. These triggers include thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and situations that activate craving.
1. Thought Triggers: Thought triggers arise out of addictive thinking or an addictive mind set that creates thoughts about the role that cocaine plays in a person's life.
2. Feeling Triggers: Feeling triggers come from sensory cues - seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, or smelling something that reminds them of cocaine. It also results from experiencing feelings or emotions that were normally medicated by cocaine use.
3. Behavioral Triggers: The behavioral triggers deal with drug-seeking behaviors and rituals that activate a craving.
4. Situational Triggers: Situational triggers include any stessful relationships or situations that used to be engaged in on a regular basis while using cocaine.
Once these triggers are activated, a powerful cocaine craving emerges.
Stage 3: The Craving Cycle
The third and final stage of craving is the actual craving cycle. This cycle is marked by obsession, compulsion, physical craving, and drug-seeking behavior.
1. Obsession: When the obsession is activated, the person has out-of-control thinking about cocaine use. Intrusive thoughts invade their mind and they can't turn them off. The obsession quickly turns into a compulsion.
2. Compulsion: When compulsion is activated the person begins experiencing an overwhelming urge to use the drug even though they consciously know that it is dangerous to do so.
3. Craving: The obsession and compulsion merge into full blown physical craving. Physical craving is marked by a strong desire to use the drug, rapid heart beat, shortness of breath, perspiration, and at times the actual sense of tasting, smelling, or feeling the cocaine. Physical craving is very powerful.
4. Drug Seeking Behavior: In an effort to manage the obsession, compulsion, and physical craving, many cocaine addicts activate drug-seeking, ritual behavior. They begin to cruse old neighborhoods, talk with old drug using friends, and go to bars and other places where cocaine is used. This exposes the person to more triggers which intensify the craving cycle. Eventually, the person becomes overwhelmed with a compulsion that they cannot control and they return to drug use.
Preventing Cocaine Craving
Cocaine craving can be prevented by following a number of simple guidelines.
1. Recovery Program: Develop a structured recovery program that puts you in continuous daily contact with other recovering people.
2. Know Your Triggers: Identify the things that activate the craving and learn how to cope with those triggers.
3. Know & Avoid And Set-up Behaviors: Know your set-up behaviors and learn how to avoid or cope with those set-up behaviors. If you don't set yourself up for craving, when you do have a craving they will be less severe and last for a shorter length of time.
4. Dismantle Euphoric Recall: Carefully examine past pleasant memories about cocaine use and search for the hidden negatives in the experience. Most people find that they had no purely positive experiences while using cocaine. There were always hidden negatives.
5. Stop Magical Thinking: It is also important to stop magical thinking about future use and to stop awfulizing your current sobriety. This will allow you to deal with the physical set-ups and let you know what to do to stop a craving.
Intervening On An Episode Of Craving
Since craving is a normal and natural symptom of cocaine addiction that follows the addict into recovery, it is important for cocaine addicts to learn how to deal with craving in recovery. This is done by learning and practicing a number of steps.
1. Recognize Craving: Addicts must learn how to recognize a craving while it is happening. Many addicts fail to identify mild cravings as problematic and wait until they are in a full blown, severe craving before taking action.
2. Accept Craving As Normal: Many people experience a craving, panic, and believe there is something wrong with their recovery or that they are condemned to return to cocaine use. This is not true.
3. Go Somewhere Else: The craving was probably activated by an environmental trigger, so get out of the setting you're in and get into an environment that supports sobriety.
4. Talk It Through: If you talk it through, you don't have to act it out. Cocaine addicts need to talk about their cravings as soon as they occur to discharge the urge to use.
5. Aerobic Exercise: This stimulates brain chemistry and reduces the physiology of craving.
6. Eat A Healthy Meal: Eat a healthy meals in order to nourish the brain. Consume some lean fish or meat for protein and eat some whole wheat bread or baked, potatoes or brown rice for complex carbohydrates. It also helps to take some vitamins and amino acids to help stabilize brain chemistry imbalances.
7. Meditation And Relaxation: Cravings are worse when a person is under high stress. The more a person can relax, the lower the intensity of the craving.
8. Distraction: divert attention from the craving by engaging in other activities that productively distract the person from their feelings.
9. Remember Cravings Are Time-limited: The ninth step is to remember that most craving is time limited to two or three hours. If you can use the previous eight steps to get yourself fatigued enough to fall asleep, most people wake up and the craving is gone.
It is possible to understand cocaine craving and to learn how to manage cocaine craving without returning to cocaine use. A model that allows people to identify set-up behaviors, trigger events, and the cycle of cocaine craving itself, and intervening upon this process has proven effective in reducing relapse among cocaine addicts.
References