Self-Empowered Approach to Addiction Recovery - Coping with Cravings
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Overview
Originally Published: 08/06/2014
Post Date: 08/08/2014
Source Publication: Click here
Video
Summary/Abstract
The Self Empowering approach helps to deal and cope with cravings and emotions related to addiction and increase confidence. The addiction could be with any number of things such as drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, sex, etc. There are 3 facts about cravings:
Content
1. A craving is time limited and will go away.
2. When you stop using altogether the cravings as a group will go away typically after about 90 days and sometimes as early as a week.
3. A craving in itself does not force you to do anything and you do have a choice. Knowing these 3 facts and practicing it will give you confidence and self empowerment that cravings don't control or harm you. Cravings are the 2nd point of the 4 point system to the Self Empowering Approach. The 3rd point is managing emotions. If the emotion is anxiety, we need to examine the anxiety by looking at what is the fear. When someone thinks they are in danger they might have a drink to deal with it in the short term. Doing a rational analysis of fears can gain ways to cope with anxiety, and the desire to drink shouldn't be as powerful. So part of the self empowering approach is trying to create a capacity to cope with cravings and the negative emotions to prevent it. Thereby the craving won't arise in the first place and it can be dealt with quickly.
Tom Horvath, Ph.D., a California licensed and board certified clinical psychologist (ABPP), has been President of SMART Recovery for well over a decade. He is the founder and president of Practical Recovery, a self-empowering addiction treatment system in San Diego. He is past president of the American Psychological Association’s Society on Addiction Psychology (Division 50), the world’s largest organization of addiction psychologists.