Imissme,

That craving is your addiction trying to con you into feeding it. Consider it noise, as it cannot feed itself. It needs to manipulate the rational part of your brain to pick up the glass and put it to your lips. Starve it to death.

You can read more on rational.org and learn about AVRT or addictive voice recognition technique. You can also do a search for it on YouTube, as well as look for other videos people have put up with their quitting stories. Find some inspiration in those, they are endless. No doubt you will find people with similar stories to yours.

Choose Freedom, chose never again!

PuckChaser

You may be craving the sugar. Sports drinks could help. Definitely drink plenty of water.
It took me over a year to get past the sugar cravings. Was a chocolate bar a day. Bananas or a pb&j (all fruit jam) helped me get away from the white sugar.

some good comments already. my worst cravings were satisfied by just eating something. everyone is different but for me, cravings were somehow linked to hunger and when I ate, I felt 100% better.

also, keep in mind your goal. no doubt it is hard, but persevere, continue to observe/participate in AA meetings and try drinking liquids or eating something. seems to work for a lot of people

wishing you continued success. you can do this!

Thank you for all the suggestions. They all make sense and seem to be somewhat true forms as well. I've been eating more candy than usual and yes I was hungry when I left work. I can straight home and made it through another day. Onto day 9.

Try not to look too far ahead. Take it one day at a tiime and when that craving hits, think about the consequences of your actions if you decide to buy that alcohol... When I did that, I never drank!

God Bless

Zoom meetings are subpar I’ve found. They get us by, but when the meetings return, get to them. They will be everything.

Only suggestion I have is to build a routine, a "treating my alcoholism before it does what it does" routine.

I think most people drink again because of the "everything is fine so I don't have to treat this thing" grace periods.

I know non-alcoholics not understanding and their own egos thinking me drinking again is no big deal, can stress me out to the point of thinking a drink will make them go away.

I would commit to going to AA for a year, and being around people who know they cannot drink if they want their lives to be successful. Going to AA, reading the literature, praying, talking to those who have alcoholism as well something going to the meeting automatically does), has really helped my mind reinforce within itself that life going forward must include zero alcohol.

That means I will miss out of some things "normal people" who don't have alcoholism, will not miss out on. I'll have to not date wonderful women who if it weren't for my alcoholism, I'd be having a blast with, and it will disappoint them that I have to treat my alcoholism as a priority. That might mean I will have to take careers that won't pay as much, or do jobs that my alcoholism will through my ego tell me are menial and that I am too good for.

Whenever I am struggling, and my mind is asking me to take a drink, or my spirit isn't well enough to be motivated to remain inclined to treat my alcoholism, I do default to my original means of living life without alcohol, and that is getting up, praying, reading the big book, going to a meeting, talking to a sponsor, talking to a sponsee, and then being as unselfish and humble as possible the rest of the day.

If I make that my life all the other worldly crap won't be as irritating or seen as grounds for submitting to cravings or obsessions. They are really obsessions, the craving happens after we drink.

Really accepting my powerlessness over both how compulsively I can be when it comes to alcohol, and how I use it as a life saver, instead of a recreational lubricant, and never forgetting that is key for my sanity. I have to be honest with myself that I use alcohol differently than the normal man. I use it to deny feelings and emotions that my mind and means of coping identify as very bad. My mind tells me feelings and emotions are bad for me. I have a broken mind essentially, and I have to be honest that I need a way to restore it, so it won't suggest a drink.

I have found no other way to do that as easily as just integrating what successful AA members have done, and that is make treating their alcoholism a part of daily life, by going to meetings, reading spiritual literature, have a honest and genuine relationship with God, making friends and building a support system with other alcoholics, and being service orientated and humble in society.

I have no idea why, but it works and makes life much easier to accept and not get caught up in.