Going Back and Forth Makes Your Cravings Stronger (E191)

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Many of us go back and forth while we’re trying to stop drinking. You might get 4 or 5 days in, then drink again and repeat this process many times. Obviously, less drinking days are better for your health, but drinking during the withdrawal stage actually intensifies your cravings making it harder to stop next time. In this episode you’ll learn how withdrawal impacts the associations your brain makes with alcohol and how this keeps us stuck in denial about our drinking.

What to listen to next:

E62: dopamine deep dive

E91: do you want to be sober or do you want to drink without the consequences?

E187: multiple cycles of withdrawal

Episode 191 takeaways:

• Withdrawal intensifies cravings and strengthens associations with alcohol, making it harder to quit drinking.

• Denial reduces neuroplasticity, making it difficult to recognize the need for change and adapt to new behaviors.

• Breaking the cycle of unsuccessful attempts to quit requires seeking support and trying new approaches.

• Taking support seriously and integrating into a support system increases accountability and motivation for sobriety.

Resources I offer:

• Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life

• Sober Group Coaching Program

• Anger Management

• Free resources

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Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.

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Cite this episode:

Gillian Tietz. Going Back and Forth Makes Your Cravings Stronger (E191). Sober Powered. 2024

Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.

Sources:

Kozanian, O. et al. Compulsive alcohol seeking and relapse: Central role of conditioning factors associated with alleviation of withdrawal states by alcohol. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2022.