How to Deal With Cravings
What’s up from Vancouver! Today’s question is about how to deal with cravings and this is a question I’ve been get a lot lately, so press play and check out my answer:
When it comes to how to deal with cravings it’s important to understand that cravings are a matter of momentum. And when we use this mindset of momentum with cravings it allows us to become empowered about them instead of feeling like they have all the power over us themselves.
When we quit playing video games it’s easy for cravings to become difficult, they can come out of nowhere, and catch us by surprise. Cravings come in many different ways, we can feel nostalgic about games, we miss our gamer friends, we can feel bored with our new activities and many others.
When we feel cravings first we need to understand that they can come out of nowhere and understand what they are. When we are focused on the steps we need to take to move forward – filling our days with new activities and being organized with our time – our cravings will be less.
But still they can come out of nowhere so it’s important to prepare beforehand with different tools and practices to respond well when they do come in. One of these practices is one I love and it’s a 3-step process to change any emotion.
Step 1: Acknowledge It
What you resist, persists, so when you experience a craving you need to acknowledge it as something that is happening due to a chemical imbalance in your body and by taking the time to recognize it you give it less power. You don’t need to hide from it.
Step 2: Accept It
Say “Oh well.” By accepting it that doesn’t mean you’re blindly accepting it and being a victim, you’re just acknowledging that it’s happening and you’re recognizing that that is ok. A craving doesn’t have to be a big deal if you don’t make it a big deal. Just like it came in randomly it will go away randomly too.
Step 3: Take Action
Now that you’ve acknowledged it as a craving, accepted that it’s there and that’s ok, now you want to take a positive action step towards creating the new emotion you want. What’s a step you can take to start building your momentum in the direction you want. One small action starts your momentum again. Go for a walk, get out of the house, move your body, meditate, write in a journal, call a friend.
Lastly, cravings are very similar to a breakup, and when I’ve been through breakups I just thought about my ex all the time, but over time it went away and got easier. It took some time but it gets better. Cravings are similar. They will be more intense at the beginning but over time they get easier. They’ll still come in randomly here and there so just don’t make it a big deal.
Focus one hour at a time all day long and definitely start meditating which will help you a lot.