In a perfect world, going through substance use disorder treatment would put a permanent end to your desire for drugs or alcohol. After all, you have done the hard work of getting sober, and now you just want to maintain that sobriety. That would be much easier to do if you could be confident that you will never again experience cravings related to the substances you used to use.
Unfortunately, however, this is not a perfect world. Cravings are extremely common among those who are in recovery from a substance use disorder. And those cravings can threaten your sobriety each time they arise.
That is why it is so important to have strategies for addressing those cravings. Having a plan makes it much more likely that you will be able to weather the storm when the cravings arrive.
One such strategy is a mindfulness technique known as “urge surfing.” Let’s take a look at this approach to staying on top of cravings. (You can find additional mindfulness resources in this previous blog post.)
What is Urge Surfing?
Clinical psychologist Dr. G. Alan Marlatt, who passed away in 2011, was dedicated to research related to relapse prevention. One of his key observations was that cravings—which Dr. Marlatt called “urges”—frequently cause a physical reaction in the body. For example, a craving for drugs or alcohol might bring on a severe headache, tension across the shoulders or back, an upset stomach, or a racing heartbeat. These physical symptoms can make it more difficult to resist a craving because the person experiencing them is eager to find relief. It might seem like giving into the craving is the fastest and easiest way to get that relief.
Dr. Marlatt drew from mindfulness practice to develop a strategy for withstanding these strong urges and the physical symptoms that accompany them. The central idea is that while cravings are almost certain to arise from time to time, a person in recovery can deal with them by bringing their attention to the physical sensations brought on by the urges and describing those sensations to themselves. The process of doing so reduces the likelihood that these cravings and physical symptoms will push them into making a bad decision that could lead to a relapse. Central to the practice is the idea that cravings are inevitable and so the person experiencing them should not feel guilty when they arise. Instead, urge surfing provides a way to address those cravings with intention.
How to Urge Surf
Here is a set of basic instructions for urge surfing. Reading them now—when presumably you are not in the throes of intense cravings—will help you know what to do next time you feel an urge to return to drug or alcohol use.
- Go somewhere where you will not be distracted or disturbed as you go through the urge surfing process.
- Get seated comfortably (whether on a chair or on the floor) and close your eyes so that you can better focus your attention on the exercise.
- Allow your mind to steadily scan down your body to locate the spots where you are experiencing physical sensations that might be connected to your cravings for drugs or alcohol.
- Once you find a negative sensation, bring your full attention to it. Calmly describe it to yourself as objectively as you can. If you have identified more than one sensation, start with the most intense and move to each subsequent feeling. Take your time. There is no hurry.
- When you are finished examining and describing each sensation, shift your attention to your breathing. Breathe as you normally would and stay focused on the rising and falling sensation.
- When you feel ready, start the scanning process again. If you find you are still experiencing strong physical sensations related to your cravings, slowly and steadily describe them to yourself again. Once you have finished, focus once again on your breathing.
- You can repeat this process as long as it feels necessary. As you continue, the cravings will subside like waves on the ocean getting smaller and smaller. Eventually, those urges and cravings you have been experiencing—the waves—will be small enough for you to manage.
- When the waves have shrunk to that manageable level, open your eyes and return to your regular activities. Remember that when you find cravings rushing over you again like a wave, you can return to this urge surfing exercise to encourage them to subside.
Again, we recommend reading those instructions a few times so that you have a good understanding of the process when next you need it. Alternately, you can bookmark this link, which is a guided urge surfing session you can use to see you through the process.
Our Primary Urge is to Help You
At The Farley Center, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, we are committed to helping each person we serve overcome substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. If you are struggling with drugs or alcohol, you can count on the staff at The Farley Center to provide evidence-based care delivered with empathy and grounded in our expertise and experience.
