What Do You Crave?
I’ve tried the usual methods for handling cravings. You know, just try to wait twenty minutes -it’ll go away if it’s a craving instead of hunger. Or take a walk – really?
Truth is, I usually already know it’s a craving, not hunger. I don’t have too wait twenty minutes. The entire twenty minutes I would just be dwelling on the chocolate. Or the potato chips. Or whatever. I wouldn’t even be able to sit around for twenty minutes. I even tried using a timer, for pete’s sake!
As I have tried to say already, this time is definitely going to be different. I’m calling out the big guns. Here are two alternative methods – hope one works for you.
Method One
I once learned a technique for handling pain. Rather than trying to ignore the pain or try to make it go away, one would connect with the problem and really LOOK at it with one’s mind. What does it look like? Does it have a shape – round, square or amoeba-like? Maybe it’s 3-dimensional – a cube or sphere? Does it have color – a single color or many? Does it move at all or stay in one place? If you keep looking at it, it may change color or shape. Stay on it and note the changes.
I think you get the picture. This method really works wonderfully. After a while, the pain actually goes away.
What does all this have to do with chocolate or potato chip desire? Try this method to handle cravings. Try not to dwell on WHAT you crave, but on the actual FEELING. How does the feeling actually look? Does it have shape, color, size? Does it maybe have texture? Force yourself to look at the feeling.
It won’t like you looking at it, and it will go away – usually for good.
Method Two
I heard this one once and really liked it. This is also a way of dealing with pain.
Picture a big radio knob (okay, so radios don’t have knobs anymore – how about the volume thing-y on your i-pod) and envision the volume setting as if it is a setting for the amount of pain you feel. How loud is the volume? If it’s very loud, you will probably want to turn it down quickly. Instead, turn it down just a little bit. Was it enough? No? Turn it down a little bit more. Keep doing this slowly until the volume is very low.
Many people have had success with this method for pain, and I think it can work for cravings too. It requires a bit of quiet time, though. Just picture the knob, and begin to turn it down. Remember that you are turning the knob down on the FEELING not the “thing that you crave”.
This topic is HOT!
Funny, that as I thought of this topic for today, I happened to receive an e-mail just this morning from e-diets on this very topic. Please feel free to have a look at what they say – you’ll see that it’s really the “same ol’ same ol’”. I, for one, am glad to try something different, even if it’s kind of a play on “same ol’ same ol’”.