Cravings Plan: Twenty Minute Fight In The Teeth Of The Storm

The Weather Map

You want a cravings plan that works in the real world: fast, blunt, and built for the moment your brain starts bargaining. Here’s a step-by-step “first 20 minutes” protocol you can follow while you’re shaking, pissed off, romanticizing, or ready to say “screw it.”

The Law of the Storm

A craving is not a command. It’s a stress signal plus a memory loop. The first 20 minutes are where most relapses are decided—not because you “didn’t care,” but because you didn’t interrupt the chain early enough.

So we’re going to interrupt it on purpose.

Your only job for 20 minutes is to delay the first drink/hit/scroll/call/text/drive/stop at the store. You’re not swearing off addiction forever in this moment. You’re buying time.

Build Your Shelter Before the Thunder

Do this when you’re calm. Future-you will not be calm.

Put a note in your phone titled: “20-Minute Cravings Plan”
Save 3 contacts under favorites: “Sponsor,” “Sober Friend,” “Backup Friend”
Pre-write a text: “Craving bad. Need 10 minutes. Can you talk?”
Make a “No-Relapse Kit” you can reach fast: water, electrolytes, gum/mints, protein bar, cold pack, headphones, nicotine replacement if you use it, a list of consequences you actually fear, a list of reasons you’re staying sober (keep it ugly-honest)
Decide your emergency rule: “If I’m craving at a 7/10 or higher, I do not drive anywhere alone for 60 minutes”

This isn’t motivation. It’s infrastructure.

The First 20 Minutes: Ride Out the First Wave

Minute 0: Name the Thunder (Kill the Story)

Cravings don’t start with the substance. They start with a sentence.

The sentence sounds like:

“Just one.”
“I deserve it.”
“Nobody will know.”
“I can handle it now.”
“I’ll quit tomorrow.”
“I’m already screwed anyway.”

Do this immediately:

Say out loud: “This is a craving.”
Then: “My brain is trying to cash out stress with an old solution.”

Labeling it breaks the spell. Not forever—just enough to move.

If you can’t speak, text yourself: “Craving. Do plan.”

Minute 0–1: Close the Gates (Make Access Hard)

You can’t outthink a craving while your hands still have a straight line to the trigger. In this minute, we don’t debate. We block access.

Pick the move that matches where you are:

If it’s in your house (two situations):
- If it shouldn’t be there: Get it out. Not hidden, not “put away,” not “for guests.” Dump it, trash it, remove it from the property, or have someone else remove it immediately. Your home is your shelter—don’t store your relapse inside it.
- If it has to be there (someone’s prescription/medical need): Lock it up and control access. That means a lockbox, limited quantities when possible, and a plan that keeps you from being the one who handles it. If the risk is high, store it off-site (pharmacy lock service, trusted family member, secure location) so it’s not sitting in your living space.
If you’re at a bar/party: Know your exit before you enter
- If you’re walking into a drinking scene—birthday, holiday, work thing, family chaos—don’t show up unarmed. Cravings can still creep in, but you can stop them from trapping you.
- Before you go in, decide this:
  - Your exit: Where’s the door, where’s your car/ride, what’s your “I’m out” route?
  - Your rule: “If I hit a 6/10 craving, I leave. No debate.”
  - Your cover: A simple line you can repeat, no explanations: “I’ve got to go,” or “Early morning tomorrow.”
  - Your safe people: At least one person there knows you’re in recovery and will back your play, not guilt you into staying.
  - Your accountability: Text/call someone before you enter and again when you leave: “Going in. Here’s my exit time.”
- In the moment, don’t negotiate with the room. If you feel the pull rise, use the bathroom as a 60-second buffer if you need it, then leave. Fresh air. Movement. Call your person. Get to safety.
- This isn’t being dramatic. It’s being prepared. You don’t “tough it out” in a high-risk environment—you leave like your life depends on it, because it does.
If you’re in your car near a store: Drive away now. Not “after one more thought.” Go to a neutral spot—somewhere that doesn’t sell your poison.
- A public library parking lot (quiet, public, low-trigger; you can sit, breathe, and make the call without booze two steps away).
- Hospital/urgent care parking lot if you’re feeling medically unsafe or close to using and need a hard stop.
- A recovery meeting spot / clubhouse parking lot (even if you’re early, even if you don’t go in—being on that ground changes your next decision fast).
If your relapse lives in your phone: Airplane mode. Block the apps. Hand the phone to someone for 20 minutes. If you can’t hand it off, put it in another room and set a timer.
- Weather Break (meditation app): Hit a 2–5 minute guided breathe session—ride the surge, then stand up and change rooms.
- Close the Gates (porn blockers): Turn on a site blocker/content filter and lock the code with a safe person—make relapse take effort.
- Cut the Supply Line (delete apps): Delete the trigger apps (porn/hookups/gambling/dealer contacts) or at least log out and bury them—no quick access, no midnight spiral.
If your relapse is a person: Don’t answer. Don’t explain. Don’t be “nice.” Silence is a boundary. Block if you need to.
- Seal the breach: No reply. No “closure.” Block, delete, and cut the thread so the craving can’t keep knocking.
- Leave their weather: Change routes, places, and patterns—don’t keep walking into the same storm and calling it “strength.”
- Bring a witness: Tell one safe person the truth and use them as your anchor—if the pull hits, you call them before you call the person.

This isn’t willpower. This is war planning: remove convenience, add friction, buy time. The flood gate only has to hold for 20 minutes—right now.

Minute 1–3: Drop the Heartstorm (Body First)

Cravings are physical. Treat them like a panic response.

Do one of these, right now:

Cold water: splash face for 30 seconds, or hold a cold pack on your cheeks/eyes for 60 seconds
30 air squats, or 20 pushups against a wall, or run stairs for 60 seconds
Slow exhale breathing: inhale 4 seconds, exhale 8 seconds, repeat 6 times

Long exhale tells your nervous system: “Stand down.” You don’t need to feel calm; you need to be less hijacked.

Minute 3–4: Check the Damage (Hunger, Rage, Lonely, Worn-Out)

Ask these questions like you’re checking a wound.

Am I hungry?
Am I angry?
Am I lonely?
Am I tired?
Am I in pain?
Am I horny or emotionally starved?
Did I just get triggered by shame, rejection, money stress, or boredom?

Pick the top 1 culprit. Not all of them. The biggest one.

Then do the matching action:

Hungry: eat something with protein + carbs now (not later)
Angry: move your body hard for 2 minutes, then text it out instead of acting it out
Lonely: contact a human immediately (see minute 6)
Tired: sit down, drink water, lower stimulation; you can’t white-knuckle on empty
Pain: take your prescribed meds correctly, hydrate, heat/ice, or call a clinician if needed

Cravings often drop when the real need gets met.

Minute 4–6: Take the Oath for 20 (No Forever Talk)

You’re not committing to sobriety forever. You’re committing to the next 1414 minutes.

Say: “I will not use for 20 minutes. Then I’ll reassess.”

If you can’t say that, go smaller:

“I will not use for 5 minutes.”
Then repeat.

This is how you win ugly moments: short contracts you actually keep.

Minute 6–10: Send the Flare (No Pride, No Novels)

Connection kills secrecy. Secrecy feeds relapse.

Do this in order, and don’t stop after one unanswered call:

Call Sponsor (or recovery person) for 2 minutes
If no answer, call Sober Friend for 2 minutes
If no answer, call Backup Friend for 2 minutes
If no answer, call a hotline or local crisis line (in the US: 988 for mental health crisis support)

Your script (keep it simple):

“I’m having a craving.”
“I need you to stay on the phone with me for 10 minutes.”
“I’m not safe to be alone with this.”

If you’re in long-term recovery and your pride says “I shouldn’t need this,” ignore it. Pride has buried people.

If you’re in early recovery and shame says “I messed up for even craving,” ignore it too. Craving means your brain is healing, not that you’re failing.

Minute 10–12: Run the Storm to the End (No Fantasy Cuts)

A craving lies in pictures. You answer it with a full video.

Ask:

What happens in the first 10 minutes if I use?
What happens in 2 hours?
What happens tomorrow morning?
What happens to my money, my sleep, my relationships, my legal situation, my job?
What happens to my self-respect?

Be specific, not moral:

“I won’t stop at one.”
“I will text someone I shouldn’t.”
“I will spend XX dollars.”
“I will wake up dehydrated, anxious, and hunting more.”
“I will have to lie.”

Then flip it:

If I don’t use, what happens in 2 hours?
Usually: “The craving fades, I feel wrung out, but I’m still alive and still sober.”

That’s the actual deal you’re choosing between.

Minute 12–15: Give Your Hands a Different Weather

Your brain wants the ritual as much as the chemical. Give your hands a different script.

Pick one:

Make a hot drink (tea, coffee) and drink it slowly
Chew gum, suck on a mint, crunch ice
Shower—hot then cool for 30 seconds
Clean one small area aggressively for 3 minutes (sink, counter, car dashboard)
Write a “craving log” on paper: time, trigger, intensity 1–10, what you did, what helped

A craving often peaks and drops if you don’t feed it with the same old choreography.

Minute 15–18: Find Higher Ground (Change the Map)

If you’re still at a 6/10 or higher, stop trying to “be strong” in a risky place.

Go somewhere that makes using harder:

A public place that doesn’t serve your substance
A gym
A meeting
A friend’s house (preferably someone who knows you’re in recovery)
Anywhere with lights, people, and accountability

If you live alone, consider this rule: “High cravings = I leave the house or invite someone over.”

Isolation is a relapse incubator.

Minute 18–20: Call It—Hold, Repeat, or Evacuate

At minute 20, don’t ask “Am I cured?” Ask “What’s my risk level?”

If craving is 0–4/10: do another 20 minutes of normal life with light structure (food, shower, errands, work)
If craving is 5–7/10: do another 20 minutes plus contact someone again
If craving is 8–10/10: escalate immediately—meeting now, sit with someone, remove cash/cards, ask someone to stay with you, or go to an ER/urgent support if you feel unsafe

The goal isn’t heroics. The goal is not using today.

When the Storm Doesn’t Ask Permission

If You’re at the Edge of the Storm (Parking Lot Rule)

Don’t argue. Start the car and leave.
Drive 5 minutes in any direction away from the store.
Call someone while driving (hands-free), or park somewhere safe and call.
Buy a drink/snack at a place that doesn’t sell your substance, then go home or to a meeting.

Your brain will say “I’m already here.” That sentence has ended a lot of sobriety. Break it.

Midnight Weather (When You’re Alone and Tired)

Night cravings are louder because your defenses are tired.

Do this:

Turn on every light in your place
Drink water, eat a snack
Put on shoes (signals “I’m not sinking into the couch spiral”)
Call or voice-message someone; if nobody answers, play a speaker meeting or recovery podcast and keep it on while you do dishes or shower
Set a timer for 20 minutes and follow the steps exactly

A lot of relapses happen because people treat night cravings like a private war. Don’t.

Rage Wind / Grief Rain (Pain Looking for Anesthesia)

Some cravings are pain trying to become anesthesia.

Do this:

Move hard for 2 minutes (stairs, pushups, fast walk)
Then write 10 lines uncensored: “What I want to do is…” and “What I actually need is…”
Then contact a person and say: “I’m not okay, and I’m having using thoughts.”

You don’t have to sound stable. You have to stay alive.

When the Storm Returns (Complacency Season)

This messes with your head because you thought you were “past it.” You’re not broken—your system is signaling stress or complacency.

Common causes:

You stopped doing maintenance (meetings, calls, sleep, food, exercise, therapy)
You’re overloaded (work, caretaking, money)
You’re isolated (quiet relapse starts emotionally)
You started “testing” yourself (hanging around triggers, romanticizing, keeping secrets)
You have untreated anxiety/depression or a med issue

Your move: treat it like a flare-up, not a personal failure. Restart the basics hard for 3030 days.

Storm Traps (How People Get Pulled Under)

When the craving hits, avoid these like they’re contaminated:

“I’ll just sit here and think about it”
Bargaining with yourself (“If I only… then it’s fine”)
Going to “just be around” people/places tied to using
Keeping cash or cards accessible when you’re triggered
Getting hungry on purpose, skipping sleep, skipping meds
Telling yourself you’re weak and doomed (shame is rocket fuel for relapse)

You don’t shame a drowning person. You throw a rope.

Pocket Lightning: The 20-Minute Script

If you want something you can read while your brain is on fire, use this:

“This is a craving, not a command.”
“I will not use for 20 minutes.”
“Create distance from access now.”
“Cold water or hard movement for 2 minutes.”
“Eat/drink something.”
“Call someone. Say: ‘Craving. Need 10 minutes.’”
“Play the tape through tomorrow.”
“Change locations if craving stays high.”
“Repeat another 20 minutes or escalate.”

Keep it brutal. Keep it simple. Keep it moving.

Field Report: One Craving, One Win

You’re 45 days sober. It’s Thursday. Work sucked. You’re driving home and your brain says: “Stop at the store. You earned it.”

Minute 0: You say out loud: “Craving.”
Minute 1: You drive past the store without turning in.
Minute 2: You park somewhere safe, splash cold water in a gas station bathroom.
Minute 4: You realize you’re hungry and furious.
Minute 5: You eat a protein bar in the car.
Minute 6: You call your sober friend: “Talk to me for 10 minutes.”
Minute 11: You play the tape: you remember the 3-day bender, the lies, the Monday withdrawal.
Minute 15: You drive to a meeting or go home and keep the lights on, shower, and put on a speaker meeting.
Minute 20: The craving isn’t gone, but it dropped from 9 to 5. You run it again.

That’s a win. Not pretty. Real.

If You Get Knocked Down: Stop the Bleeding

If you use, you don’t “finish the job.” You stop the bleeding.

Stop using as soon as you can
Get to a safe place
Call someone immediately
Hydrate, eat, sleep
Get medical help if withdrawal risk is real (especially alcohol/benzos)
Do not hide it—secrecy turns slips into spirals

The only “failure” is disappearing.

Build Your Storm Shelter

Early Recovery Guide – Start here  (Our Foundation)
Relapse Prevention Plan (because when rebuilding, stress is real).
Boundaries (we need protection, not walls)
Rebuilding Life After Addiction (built upon our foundation)

If the Storm Has Turned Bad

SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) — free, confidential, 24/7/365 treatment referral and information for individuals and families; available in English and Spanish.
FindTreatment.gov: a directory for finding treatment options in the U.S.
If you’re in crisis or thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 (U.S.) for free, confidential, 24/7 support from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Some links below are affiliate links—if you click and buy, this site may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep the lights on, and only services worth recommending get linked.

Talkspace provides virtual therapy (and also offers psychiatry services on its platform), so support can happen from a phone or computer instead of an office visit.
Online-Therapy.com is a CBT-focused online therapy platform that combines a self-guided program (sections + worksheets) with therapist support, including messaging and optional live sessions depending on subscription level.
Brightside offers an online Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for substance use disorder, built around a weekly schedule that includes group therapy, individual therapy, and psychiatry/med consults as needed.

Cravings Plan: Twenty Minute Fight in the Teeth of the Storm