5 Tips for Getting through Withdrawal

How Be Healthy: Withdrawal

Whether it’s cigarettes, potato chips, coffee, or your cell phone, going without something is the most difficult
part of making a change. Here are some strategies you can use to help you get through a craving.

1. Stay calm. Remember that craving your old habit is perfectly natural and normal and a necessary part of the cycle of change. So take a deep breath, relax, and remember, this too shall pass
2. Use the short-term delay method. Don’t think about not giving in permanently, just think in ten minute
   increments. Think “I won’t have a coffee for ten minutes, then I’ll see how I feel,” and do something distracting. After ten minutes, try the same tactic again. After a few sessions, it’s likely your craving will have passed.
3. Change your environment. Whatever you’re doing, wherever you are, change it as much as possible. If you’re at a basketball game and feel like eating nachos because you see someone eating them down the aisle, get up from your seat and walk around the stadium (just not past the nacho stand). If you’re watching TV and want to smoke, get up off the couch and go take a shower (you can’t smoke in there!).
4. Avoid giving in as long as possible. Just remember that the craving will go away whether you give in or not. You won’t crave french fries when you wake up in the morning, trust me.
5. Drink some water. Whatever you’re longing for, water will (1) distract you, (2) fill you up, and (3) give you something to do with your hands so they can’t be eating, smoking, or drinking.

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