When an urge hits, here are 3 methods that navy seals use to break bad habits in seconds

Struggling Help
#1

When an urge hits, here are 3 methods that navy seals use to break bad habits in seconds.
-Pattern Interruption
-Pattern Disruptors

If these or other methods work for you, feel free to share.

When an urge hits

First Method:
cold shock - Splash cold water on face for 30 seconds
This triggers your dive reflex and instantly resets your brain

Second Method:
The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique is a mindfulness exercise that uses your five senses to help you become present and reduce anxiety or overwhelming feelings. It involves identifying five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This technique can be used in various settings to help you refocus on the present moment.

Here's how to do the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique:

  1. 5 things you can see:
    Look around and notice five things in your environment. Focus on the details, like the color, shape, or texture.

  2. 4 things you can feel:
    Pay attention to physical sensations. Notice the feeling of your clothes on your skin, the chair you're sitting on, or the texture of an object you're touching.

  3. 3 things you can hear:
    Listen for three distinct sounds, such as the hum of the refrigerator, birds chirping, or traffic noise.

  4. 2 things you can smell:
    Identify two scents, whether it's the aroma of coffee, the smell of soap, or the scent of a flower.

  5. 1 thing you can taste:
    Focus on a taste sensation, like the lingering flavor of toothpaste or the taste of your drink.

By engaging your senses, this technique helps bring you back to the present moment and away from anxious thoughts or feelings. It can be particularly helpful during stressful situations, panic attacks, or when experiencing flashbacks

Your urges cant compete with that

Third Method:
Power move - drop and do 20 pushups (or similar excercises)
This will help redirect blood flow and help kill the urge.

Science shows they work because they interrupt your brains automatic response system.
So you do not dwell on urge.
Instead redirect your attention into something else.

Note: this is not my original content - I borrowed this early in my own recovery and modified it for me. I wish I could credit the original post today.

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#2

Thanks for sharing this

#3

My pleasure. After any urge passes consider a meeting or calling someone? At least 90 meetings in the first 90 days works!

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#4

Also I play out the scenario in my mind to the very bitter end. I fast fwd to the hangover and misery. I don’t stay in the exquisite initial high. I go to the end result and truth.
This has helped me thousands of times over the last 16 years. Still clean & sober :pray:

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#5

I like number four - sipping a cup of coffee outside while smelling the fresh cut grass or flowers in the day.

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#6

Everything mentioned hear works. When I stopped doing drugs 5 months ago. The panic attacks and anxiety had me thinking I was gonna die. I still have panic and anxiety attacks and these are my go to things to do. And breathing exercises. It’s not a full cure but works wonders

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#7

Love this kind of stuff being shared.

That cold water one is real. I’ve done that when my head’s spinning and it actually snaps you back fast. The 5-4-3-2-1 thing too, sounds simple but it pulls you out of the spiral and back into your body.

Urges pass. They feel huge in the moment but they don’t last forever. Having a few go-to moves like this makes a big difference. Thanks for putting this out there.