Let’s talk about the early days of change

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The difference between cravings, withdrawal symptoms, triggers and urges

Terminology can be confusing, especially if we perceive an overlap between labels. So here’s a quick reminder of the terms and what we mean when we use them in our Peps.

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Cravings – a craving is a real, physical experience we get when we change our drinking, which the mind interprets as needing a drink. They usually pass in around 30 minutes and will dissipate after a week or two once alcohol withdrawal is complete. Cravings are the most immediate thing to address in the early stages of the journey, and we cover them in this Pep.

Withdrawal symptoms – before we go any further, we need to clarify the difference between cravings and withdrawal symptoms. We’ve established cravings are physical sensations that pass. On the other hand, withdrawal symptoms tend not to improve on their own and can worsen as time passes. Please seek medical advice if you experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, sweats, shakes, or overwhelming anxiety.

Triggers – are situations and circumstances that lead to triggering thoughts around drinking. These can be cravings early on but can be everyday things like cooking dinner, putting the kids to bed, walking past your favourite pub, dinner parties, holidays etc. We will cover triggers over the next few Peps but will go into even more detail in the Maintenance Peps (feel free to skip forward and back through the Peps as circumstances arise). 

Urges – are that overwhelming feeling of needing or wanting a drink. They can happen after a craving or a trigger.

And don’t worry if you forget what any terms we use mean; we have included an inline glossary for you to double-check at any time.