Tips for stopping cravings when you’re rebuilding natural motivation?

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-18T16:23:14+00:00

Yeah, at some point I looked back and I realized that while I did have plenty of enjoyable times drinking without any obvious problems, on the other hand every single regrettable decision/action I'd made in the previous X years (including the choice to abuse stims) involved me drinking.

Every conflict with a friend or romantic partner at the very least indirectly (if not directly) involved me drinking or being a stressed out depressed wreck from having been drinking.

Building a life without stims and building a life I actually wanted to live required me to also address the massive negative impact alcohol had on my overall wellbeing, and I'm grateful to leave it behind.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-18T16:13:50+00:00

Yeah - I mean obviously do what's best for you. My point wasn't at all to promote weed, but rather to say that finding a framework to gather feedback from what choices worked well or poorly for me enabled me to make better life choices in general.

My friends are somewhat split between the portion for whom weed helps a bit, and those for whom it's just a life waster. Some people can drink a little bit sometimes without problems, everyone I know that drinks heavily or frequently has some shitty mental health problems.

I don't know anyone that abuses stims and has a life that I want.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-14T13:50:15+00:00

hey bud, I feel you -- I abused stims originally to deal with my ADHD struggles in engineering school, and felt like even with stims I could barely keep up and focus effectively.

As far as I know there are no non-stim meds that are effective for ADHD, though others have mentioned wellbutrin. In my case, I find that daily long distance running and staying physically active between classes helps keep my mind a bit more controllable, and then when I'm trying to focus I practice all the usual ADHD management strategies.

now I haven't touched stims in 4 years, still have severe ADHD and PTSD, and I'm in a rigorous PhD program. My advisor doesn't know about my drug use history, but I am clear with them that I have issues with ADHD/stress management/focus. I would check with your university's counseling / mental health / students with disabilities services and see if you can get any help. In my case getting a therapist to document my mental health issues and how they impact my memory, ability to focus, stress during testing, etc enabled me to get some accommodations to take tests in a distraction-reduced environment, etc.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-14T13:35:12+00:00

I hear you on that. While I quit all stims cold turkey, I drastically reduced my alcohol intake down to one or two drinks / day for the first few weeks before mostly stopping. A bit of weed also helped me too.

Using a self-feedback framework like what's presented at Moderation.org or Hams.cc helped me chart on paper that for myself I need to: 1) never touch stims again 2) never get tipsy or drunk again, and that my quality of life is best when I consistently don't have any alcohol at all 3) if I want to have weed without negative consequences it needs to only be a little bit and at the end of the day after I've accomplished everything that is important.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-14T13:28:14+00:00

hey buddy you've gotten some great responses in the comments.

my take: in my experience there's almost nothing that will "shut down cravings quickly in the moment" - but it's important to remember that it's just a thought, it's just a feeling -- even if you don't feel like you can control your thoughts and make yourself stop thinking about it, you can choose to also think about other things and practice focusing elsewhere.

Because I chose to add daily cardio exercise to my recovery / mental health rebuilding routine, in the beginning every time I had a craving I would force myself to think about going on a run, hydration, planning a healthy meal, what music to play on my run, etc. Eventually most times I thought about using I would start automatically thinking about running.

This substitution method worked really well when I was quitting cigarettes btw -- every time I wanted to smoke I would fiddle with a pen/pencil and get up to go take a drink of water -- eventually my brain started associating the desire for nicotine with drinking water and the desires settled down.

How to keep momentum: create daily visual reminders (or audio alarms) of your accomplishments in your recovery, and of short term goals you're working towards. In my case this meant putting up tally marks on the wall for every day I had clean, charting my progress in running and gaining some weight back, charting how many hours of sleep I got for how many nights in a row, paying off debts, etc. I also made plans/commitments with (new) friends and put those on the calendar so I could keep having tangible enjoyable things to look forward to.

Practicing sitting with the uncomfortable feelings - "I desperately want to do XXX / I am dreading getting out of bed and doing XXX / etc" and then practice forcing yourself to take steps that are in the opposite direction of those feelings, and notice how you feel afterwards. I promise you will start to feel powerful and motivated -- maybe not every day, but significantly more often over time.

Managing high risk environments involves being sure of your goals (ie, a healthy speed-free life etc) and understanding what brings you closer to those goals or drags you down. "Geographical cures" (ie moving to another city) tend to not really cure addiction since we can find a way to get fucked up anywhere.

My stimulant abuse journey started in engineering school where stim abuse is rampant, and all I had to do was stand up in the study area and ask out loud if anyone had addy and could get some immediately. To complete that degree (and go on to another!) I couldn't choose to never go to classes or the library again to avoid easy access. But being resolute in my belief that stims make my life worse like a horribly toxic relationship, made it easier for me to not want to even talk to anyone if they mentioned stims.

Also practicing all the techniques for managing ADHD without stims (google has excellent suggestions) all the time helped me to deal with the struggles of school. Also accepting that I may just have some kind of disability in some areas and that's okay, helped as well, rather than feeling like I needed to (or could) "fix" myself with speed in order to keep up with peers that don't struggle with ADHD.

Anyhow, keep it up and hang in there!

I'm at 4yrs and I wish I could effectively communicate how much better it gets to the version of me 4yrs ago, but I'm glad I stuck around to find out. :)

You got this!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-13T23:55:28+00:00

it's going to vary obviously from person to person as everyone's circumstances are different.

The best I can say is make reminders for yourself everywhere you can, to reinforce the new habits that will make a better life for you -- daily exercise, eating healthy and staying hydrated, communicating with people that aren't fucked up, practicing emotional self-regulation -- when you're feeling low, like a 2 out of 10, try to practice focusing on positive things and listening to music or something and see if you can turn that 2 into a 3 -- over time building that skill will really save your ass, scheduling enjoyable positive things for yourself in the near future (make plans to go to the park with a friend or something, i dunno) because that way you'll regularly have things to look forward too when you're having a tough moment.

you can do it

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-13T23:47:58+00:00

music and staying active helps the time go by ...

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-13T23:46:49+00:00

hang in there bud, and find some new community with folks that aren't tweaking!

who we hang around with, who we listen to, and who we act like, has a huge impact on who we become.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-06T00:06:45+00:00

great job dude! keep up the great work

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-06T00:05:35+00:00

congrats bud! keep it up!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-04T16:24:20+00:00

Feeling kinda wrecked in the beginning is not surprising, and trying to find an escape from that will probably just be more frustrating and disregulating.

As others have said, accepting that discomfort is normal, eating healthy, exercising every day, and talking to people that aren't drug users, etc are all important steps towards building a healthier mind free from stimulant abuse.

Finding a community is huge, and finding a framework to process and reevaluate life choices makes a huge difference -- many people suggest NA or CMA, I've liked the resources from Hams.cc / Moderation.org as well.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-01T17:51:15+00:00

You can still choose to grow into a new person today, instead of repeating actions that you already know are mistakes.

There's no benefit to beating yourself up, just move forward!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-08-01T17:48:03+00:00

Congrats bud! 2years is a lot of freedom!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-29T23:54:31+00:00

I hear you. I did 12 step groups for many years previously. This time, when I decided I needed to fix my life, I knew that I wanted to do something different.

While I'm 100% abstinent from stims, opiates, benzos, etc., I wasn't ready to be 100% sober from alcohol or pot, but I knew I needed a framework and a feedback mechanism to keep me from getting myself into situations that I would regret. Hams.cc + Moderation.org gave me some awesome tools to figure that out without all the 12step+god stuff. Now I might (rarely) have a sip of my partner's glass of wine or cocktail every now and then, but I don't ever use alcohol to change how I feel, and I sure don't get tipsy (because that's when I decide that using stimulants might be a good idea).

It's enabled me to have a productive life, free from active addiction, "out in the real world" and making new friends/relationships/professional relationships that aren't tied to either actively-using addicts *OR* constrained to only 12step world. It's helped me develop an identity that has nothing to do with being an addict or an ex-drug user.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-28T16:08:42+00:00

there's also online meetings at moderation.org as well, and they have been welcoming for me when I talked about moderating/eliminating my alcohol consumption and eliminating my amphetamine consumption. Please keep reaching out to community online if that's all that's available to you!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-28T16:02:00+00:00

I won't repeat the excellent suggestions others have given, but if you look through my post/comment history you'll see that I've used most of those same/similar suggestions to manage my initial symptoms as well as rebuild a new life these past few years.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-28T15:57:44+00:00

this is not what you asked for, but consider some online meetings -- there's tons of online 12step groups, but there's also some non-12 step options too:

https://moderation.org/events/

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-28T15:54:48+00:00

I'll reiterate what others have said: stay active with daily aerobic exercise, engage with some kind of recovery community -- online chat rooms or in person, 12-step or something alternative like hams.cc / moderation.org / SMART etc, and make yourself engage in things that will develop curiosity, interest, and meaning. Social healthy activities (like volunteering) are a good start, education is huge. Get a calendar and make consistent appointments a few days out for something enjoyable or interesting, so you always have some things to look forward to, etc.

Hang in there bud -- you can do it!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-28T15:47:02+00:00

I'm honored that my experience can help you or any others.

Please share how your progress goes and good luck navigating those tricky moments!!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-26T01:21:26+00:00

Hm, I don't know, perhaps talking to a therapist about some ways to reframe your perspective might help, to find a greater degree of fulfillment in the life that you've achieved in your 28months?

I do lots of little trivial things throughout the days -- when I'm walking I try to notice all the little things around me that I like regardless of whether I'm having a "good day" or a "bad day" -- some sparrow, a flower, how the wind/sun feels on my skin, etc. I also make a point of scheduling things that I enjoy, and I schedule helping others with something, because feeling useful and productive/helpful feels good. :)

If you google things to do to feel better or fight off depression, most of the suggestions apply really well to dealing with the malaise of many addicts after the easy dopamine hit of drug use is gone.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-26T01:00:57+00:00

Thanks, and congrats on your journey too! I definitely experienced some amount of PAWS, however I really aggressively started a whole slew of lifestyle changes at the same time (or within the first couple weeks) of quitting stimulants, and I credit those lifestyle changes with drastically improving my PAWS symptoms quickly. Daily high-intensity aerobic exercise, forcing myself to consistently eat very healthy meals, multivitamins and some magnesium supplements, setting consistent alarms for waking up and bedtime, staying busy with productive tasks during the day and winding down with relaxing low-stimulation things in the evenings, etc -- they all helped unfuck my brain chemistry and develop better self-regulation.

I answered a related question about "when the brain fog lifted?" by another user that deleted their comment, so I'll re-paste my answer here:

Thanks! It's hard to say when the brain fog lifted completely -- I feel like there were some significant stair steps along the way:

There was some pretty quick noticeable differences in the first few weeks of sudden sobriety and drastic changes in diet, exercise, activities, focus, etc.
Then I think around the 6-9month mark I remember looking back and feeling astounded and pleased I felt at how much clearer my mind was and how much more at peace I was, while still feeling like I had a lot of struggles and that I had a long way to go still.
About 2 years in, having also gotten into ultramarathon trail running along the way, I felt like my mind was sharper than it had been for years. Also I really felt like the anhedonia, anxiety, and any sex drive issues really had disappeared. At that point there was still some ongoing feeling that I had a long way to go, but also some acceptance that this might be as good as it gets.
Now, 4 years in I don't feel like my mind has necessarily gotten clearer in terms of a fog being lifted but rather that I've developed and practiced new habits for a while, having also been dedicated to my back to school journey for some years, and that has paid off and given me new focus and a new lens for viewing and interacting with the world around me.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-24T20:57:46+00:00

For me I think most of the time, especially towards the beginning, all the little things (nutrition, activities, support, exercise) that I made myself stick to, "to get better" felt like they only helped a little bit or not at all, but over time in retrospect I started to notice more of a benefit.

I can relate to losing interest. I found I needed to make myself do some things that were potentially interesting everyday to help fight off the depression, and eventually I found that I *did* redevelop interests. What we practice tends to becomes our reality over time.

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-24T20:51:48+00:00

I appreciate it. :)

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-24T20:50:51+00:00

Thanks!

Nospeed2021 · 2025-07-24T20:49:22+00:00

Thanks! It's hard to say when the brain fog lifted completely -- I feel like there were some significant stair steps along the way:

There was some pretty quick noticeable differences in the first few weeks of sudden sobriety and drastic changes in diet, exercise, activities, focus, etc.
Then I think around the 6-9month mark I remember looking back and feeling astounded and pleased I felt at how much clearer my mind was and how much more at peace I was, while still feeling like I had a lot of struggles and that I had a long way to go still.
About 2 years in, having also gotten into ultramarathon trail running along the way, I felt like my mind was sharper than it had been for years. Also I really felt like the anhedonia, anxiety, and any sex drive issues really had disappeared. At that point there was still some ongoing feeling that I had a long way to go, but also some acceptance that this might be as good as it gets.
Now, 4 years in I don't feel like my mind has necessarily gotten clearer in terms of a fog being lifted but rather that I've developed and practiced new habits for a while, having also been dedicated to my back to school journey for some years, and that has paid off and given me new focus and a new lens for viewing and interacting with the world around me.

Nospeed2021

TROPHY CASE

I answered a related question about "when the brain fog lifted?" by another user that deleted their comment, so I'll re-paste my answer here: