How to Deal With Alcohol Cravings: 10 Ways to Ride Out the Urge

You've made up your mind to stop drinking. Then 6pm on a Friday rolls around, or someone opens a bottle, or the day just went badly, and suddenly a drink is all you can think about. That's a craving, and it's one of the most common reasons people go back to drinking.

The good news: cravings are normal, they're temporary, and you can learn to get through them. This guide covers what cravings are, why they happen, and ten practical ways to ride one out.

Safety first: if you feel shaky, sweaty, sick or anxious when you stop drinking, that may be withdrawal, not a craving. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous. Talk to a doctor.

What is an alcohol craving?

A craving is a strong urge or desire to drink. It can feel physical (a tight chest, restlessness, a dry mouth) or mental (thoughts that keep circling back to a drink, or a sudden list of reasons why tonight is an exception). The NIAAA lists strong cravings as one of the signs of alcohol use disorder, but you don't need a diagnosis to have them. Almost everyone who cuts back or quits will feel them.

The most important thing to know is that a craving is a wave, not a wall. It builds, peaks and fades, usually within minutes, whether you drink or not.

Why cravings happen

When you drink regularly, your brain learns to link alcohol with relief, reward and routine. Over time, the things that came before a drink start to trigger the urge on their own. Common triggers include:

• Times and places: after work, Friday nights, your usual bar, the drive home past the shop.
• Feelings: stress, boredom, loneliness, anger, or even celebration.
• People: friends you usually drink with, or someone offering you one.
• Your body: being hungry or tired can feel a lot like wanting a drink.

Knowing your triggers won't stop every craving, but it means fewer of them catch you by surprise.

10 ways to get through a craving

1. Remind yourself that it will pass

Cravings feel urgent, as if they'll keep growing until you give in. They won't. Saying “this is a craving, and it will pass” out loud takes some of its power away.

2. Breathe slowly

Slow breathing with a long out-breath helps your body calm down. Try this: breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 2, and breathe out for 6. Repeat for a few minutes. It gives your hands and your mind something to do while the urge peaks.

3. Surf the urge

Instead of fighting the craving, watch it. Notice where you feel it in your body, how strong it is, and how it changes from moment to moment. This technique, called urge surfing, comes from mindfulness based relapse prevention. Many people find that a craving loses its grip once they stop arguing with it.

4. Delay the decision

Don't decide whether to drink right now. Set a timer for 15 minutes and decide when it goes off. Most of the time, the urge has faded before the timer has.

5. Remember your reasons

Look at the reasons you wrote down for stopping: your sleep, your money, your health, the people you love. Keep them on your phone or on a note in your wallet, so they're there when you need them.

6. Play the tape forward

A craving only shows you the first sip. Picture the rest of the night, and then tomorrow morning. How do you feel? What did it cost? Now picture the same morning without the drink.

7. Change where you are

If the craving came from a place, leave it. Step outside, go for a walk, move to a different room. Changing your surroundings is one of the fastest ways to break the pattern.

8. Keep your hands and mind busy

Take a shower, cook something, tidy a drawer, play a game, put on a podcast. Anything that holds your attention for 15 minutes is enough to get you past the peak.

9. Check in with your body

Ask yourself whether you're hungry, angry, lonely or tired. People in recovery call this HALT. A snack, a glass of water, a call or an early night often fixes what felt like a craving.

10. Talk to someone

Text a friend, call someone you trust, or reach out to a support group. You don't have to explain much. “I'm having a rough moment” is enough, and saying it out loud makes the urge smaller.

How to have fewer cravings

You can't avoid every craving, but you can make them rarer:

• Keep alcohol out of the house.
• Plan your riskiest times in advance, like Friday evenings, with something else to do.
• Have an alcohol-free drink you enjoy ready to go.
• Eat regularly and get enough sleep.
• Step down gradually if you can. Our guide on how to cut back and quit walks through how.

Cravings usually get weaker and less frequent the longer you go without drinking. The first weeks are the hardest.

If you do drink

A slip is not a failure, and it doesn't erase your progress. The danger is the thought that comes after: “I've already blown it, so I might as well keep going.” Don't. Stop where you are, think about what triggered it, and plan what you'll do differently next time. Then carry on tomorrow.

When to get help

If cravings feel constant or overwhelming, or you keep drinking when you've decided not to, talk to your doctor. Medications and therapies can make cravings much easier to manage. Free, confidential help is available: in the US, the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 (24/7); in the UK, Drinkline on 0300 123 1110; in Australia, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.

How Pour Decision helps

Pour Decision has a button for exactly this moment. Tap “I'm about to relapse” and it walks you through slow breathing, shows you how far you've come, and gives you simple things to try instead.

The rest of the app works on the days in between. Your quit plan steps you down to zero one week at a time, your sober clock counts every second, and daily mood check-ins help you spot what sets your cravings off.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• NIAAA: Rethinking Drinking
• NIAAA: Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder
• NIAAA: Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help
• NHS: Tips on cutting down alcohol
• NHS: Alcohol use disorder
• SAMHSA National Helpline