Dealing with Cravings 3: Exercise

Cravings

Jun 20

Hello Sobertown,

When the sensation of craving alcohol begins through whichever triggering pathway it may, we employ one or more craving strategies to STOP the thought becoming an action, we grab the bolt cutters and cut the chain dragging us toward the liquor store. Which size bolt cutter you select should always be the largest on offer at that particular time because there is no such thing as overkill in squashing the notion that drinking would be a good option during the irrational firing of old neurological pathways.

Recall from the Introduction to Dealing with Cravings article.

We can deal with cravings through gate control: DISTRACTION! OVERRIDING ONE STIMULUS, that is CRAVINGS with ANOTHER STIMULUS. The MORE INTENSE the alternative stimulus is, THE BETTER.

Nothing is more intense, overriding or effective than CHALLENGING EXERCISE.

Remember back to the loop

CRAVING LOOP

Sensation, Perception, Feeling, Thought and Action

Sensation, Perception, Feeling cravings, STOP…. Thought, STOP…… Control the Action and go to the gym, tie on the shoes, get on the bike, move move move.

Sensation, Perception, Feeling STOP… STOP…

STOP! Override!!! Time to Move!

The act of moving our body in a directed and intentional way is in my opinion the most important aspect of both physical and mental health outside of our need for water and nourishment to stay alive. Exercise has a bio-directional relationship with our health whereby its regular engagement enforces additional positive health habits deeper into our lifestyle and inhibits interaction with activities detrimental to our overall health. We can think of regular and intentional physical activity as the spark for the “all” in the “all or none” way that we tend to be in our relationship with healthy lifestyle engagement.

When engaging in challenging physical activity an incredible level of pleasure can be gained which is impossible to achieve through any other action or drug. I absolutely stand by this statement, no chemical intervention can mirror the multi-faceted sensation reached at a certain point during hard cardiovascular exercise whereby a cadence is attained coupled with strangely desirable underlying pain and discomfort through challenge and fatigue where the chemical influx into the brain reaches a certain unmatchable yet solemnly sober natural high and elevation. When the point of fatigue and strain gives way to a blanket of calm and acceptance of discomfort which is then blurred into pleasure and each stride or pedal is felt as force perfection to the left, to the right, left right, left right and a beautiful harmony and synchronicity is attained while the mind is calmed and centered on the rolling motion of the body through its perfect pace and balance in the action performed. Time slows down while every system begins working in harmony while the heart thumps the blood around to O2 fuel the wave and pattern of muscular contraction all while the connective tissues have found their perfectly controlled strain and laxity and viscosity as the limbs swing and move in time like a metronome and most importantly the mind calms and true quiet found almost nowhere else in life is achieved as though meditation has been mastered. This feeling, this beautiful synchronous cadence of the body and mind can only be found through true and enduring physical challenge which takes genuine time and dedication. This feeling, it is worth working for and it is one of the most pure forms of peace amongst chaos one can reach, if you have pushed yourself to this point in your life and felt the effects of this drug then you know of which I speak, if you have not, you need to try this drug, you need to put in the time to get here because it resolves far more than you would ever imagine. To put it simply regarding regular and challenging physical activity, the juice is absolutely worth the squeeze.

Human movement and biomechanics to me is the most beautiful subject in existence, the concurrent motion of human joints with their balance of feedback and feedforward neurological pulses allowing incredibly coordinated soft tissue activation at perfect balance and amplitude with minimal conscious thought all resulting in specific motion, incredible. Movement is life, “Happiness is a State of Activity” (Aristotle) your body is made to move, it is not made to sit for hours at a time, it is not made for chairs or cars, it is not supposed to be or feel ok without the nourishment of human movement. If your life is lacking adequate movement then above all else begin the process of increasing the dosage of physical activity in your life, in general and then this can also be channeled to be a powerful craving crusher, powerful and potent.

I can say this with the utmost confidence. No human body is exempt from the requirement of movement. There is no excuse or way out and you know what, I wouldn’t want there to be, the day our health can be optimised with no work is the day we discard our purpose and our souls in my opinion, we who have reached depths and dragged ourselves out through work and effort can reach around and pat ourselves on the back and feel it and you can too. Every one of us simply requires exercise, this is compulsory and anybody who tells you otherwise is wildly misinformed. Without adequate movement you should not expect to feel consistency in the positive range of emotions and moods. Without adequate movement we will experience a multitude of unwanted effects, whether immediate or in the future, likely both. If you are not engaging in at least somewhat challenging exercise of some description then you are in luck, things will only improve when you ensure this is added to your days.

Many people report barriers to engagement in these activities, these are your barriers and yes they are very real, these however can be overcome. You must move, you have to move. Time, you have no time, this is very prevalent as a barrier to exercise, you work long hours and commute, you have responsibilities and children, that’s ok, you need only 15 minutes a day to add meaningful levels of activity to your life, you can find this, you just need to plan. Injuries and physical restrictions, you have a bad shoulder, you have a disability, you have a sore back, you can exercise. You have a mental health disorder restricting your motivation and drive, they are all real and valid reasons but regardless they can be overcome with planning, help, effort and care.

Some individual and real cases to share, epilepsy, I know a young man with a rare epileptic condition whereby he may experience a seizure for over 10 minutes and sometimes well over 10 of these per day, they can occur at any time without warning, he trains, he rows, rides an adapted bike with an auto brake and lifts fixed weights which can not fall or harm him, he adapts, he moves. I train a 60 year old who with several restrictions in the musculoskeletal system has recently completed a triathlon. I train a male weighing over 150kg who can now squat well above his body weight and ride a bicycle for over 100km at a time. You can see the examples anywhere you look, there are ways to work around injuries, disabilities, time restrictions and the most restrictive, mental health. Our most difficult restriction to overcome is our mental state, we are limited by our mood and our internal motivation. I can only say this, when you feel drained, unmotivated and like you have nothing in the tank, this is the perfect time to go for it, you simply need to muster the strength to put on those shoes and run, ride, walk, lift, go. This article has the intent of covering a method of dealing with cravings, and so I will not go into additional detail side from the below on how to deal with limiting factors however they can be overcome.

Some personalities will be drawn to group activities, in this case, book classes, train with friends, be accountable to others. Some will be solo exercisers, plan the time and the routes or the routines in this case and stick to it. Unfortunately this is not rocket surgery but simple hacking of your own primary motivations. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, you will feel better when you exercise regularly, when you challenge yourself regularly. This may seem counter intuitive but experiencing discomfort on a regular basis hardens us in life, makes us tougher and better able to deal with discomfort and this includes overcoming cravings or desire to fall back to bad habits. This is not preaching, it is simple fact. Move that body and make it a priority because it pays back every time.

The most successful partakers in leading an alcohol free life understand the profoundly important role physical activity and physical fitness plays in the process of living alcohol free. I can not stress this enough.

To be logical now and address the obvious, I understand there will be times where a craving may take hold and jumping up to action will not be practical or possible. For example you are a work in the office, you see an advertisement on your compute for some form of alcohol, the sensation turns to perception then thought of drinking and the cravings is initiated all while you sit at work at your computer, the response here is not reasonably going to be “Hey boss. I just need to get up and do a few rounds of air squats, push ups and then some office sprints, all good with that?” I mean, hey, if your office is ok with that then go for it but no that is not likely. I know situations will arise where exercise as a means of dealing with cravings directly will not always be possible and so this is something which should be employed where possible and it can be planned for common trigger periods such as the afternoons and employed as best we can around our daily life. The fact is however that regular engagement will also help to manage cravings into the future with modulation of neural activity, hormones and engagement in further healthy activities.

When you plan an alcohol free life it should coincide with planning a physically active life anew, maintained or increased. While some people are proponents of groups, supports, steps or other strategies as the number one vital aspect of sobriety I am firm in the number one, most important aspect of sobriety as being a renewed focus on the physical, on movement, on training, on exercise in the best and most applicable way for you, your body and your current level of fitness, experience and abilities. This may be my field and I may be biased in placing exercise so high on the list of important factors in life, health and sobriety but the research, the physiology and the facts support me in this view. Remember, this does not mean couch to marathon in a short period of time, we all start from a different position and a different base in fitness and for some of us a walk is hard walk and that is fine and for others a one hundred km ride is hard work and that is fine too.

If you are an exercise nut already, hey, I am preaching to the choir and you know exactly how vital it is that we move, challenge our bodies and stay physically active.

Dealing with cravings is best served with a side of exercise.

When a craving comes around, remember, sensation STOP. Go and move your body in a challenging way. Do not think twice, just go. Go walk, Go run, Go row, Go ski, Go ride, Go lift, Go squat, go jump, go pull, go push, go hold, go kick, go roll go go go go go.

Go get it Sobertown.

The Sobertown Blog articles and recordings are created as a means of assisting others in achieving and maintaining sobriety and freedom from alcohol. Experiences, entries, research and article content are that of the author and should be applied in a safe manner deemed best by the reader and applied safely, if relevant, with medical oversight. This is not medical advice and the author is not a medical doctor. No advice within is based on or crosses over with the authors profession or professional opinion as an AHPRA registered allied health practitioner or FA registered exercise professional.

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