LET’S TALK TRIGGERS

In the beginning bit of this sobriety journey I noticed a lot of triggers that would kick-start the craving process in my brain. Some of these seemed pretty straight forward – like walking into a sunny pub garden or ending a really long hard day with the kids. Those are times that I would normally have a drink.

But then there are the ones that I wasn’t expecting. I remember during lockdown, when there was a slight lifting of restrictions we rented a place in Yorkshire, I had to do the drive and it was LONG, maybe 5 hours or so. When I got out of that car the first thing I wanted was a big glass of wine to decompress from the drive. I remember walking into the rental property putting my two hands on the kitchen counter and taking a breath. I looked up at my husband and said “I’m sorry, I have to get in the bath.” As my biggest cheerleader on this journey he said okay, and while he unpacked I soaked myself while listening go “Quit Like a Woman.” The craving passed, but I wasn’t expecting the trigger to come from a long car journey.

Clients often express to me how they find triggers in unexpected and sometimes just the most normal every day things.

For example, “the patio”, “Saturday” and simply “sunshine.”

Triggers can be holidays, places, days, weather- anything! But here’s the good news- when you know what they are you can plan for how to respond to them. And I can promise you that eventually the trigger to craving process dissipates and eventually goes away all together. It just takes time for our amazing brains to re-wire – a really cool thing called neuroplasticity.

If you want to learn more about triggers, cravings, habit formation and so much more, check out my 30 Day Booze Break Course here. It’s a self-study course you can take in your own time at your own pace.

What are your triggers?