Crisis Tool

Emergency Urge Protocol

A craving just hit. That's OK. This 5-minute guided exercise will walk you through it.

🛡

You're in the right place.

This protocol has 5 steps. Each one takes about 1 minute. By the end, the urge will have passed or weakened significantly.

Cravings peak at 90 seconds and rarely last beyond 5 minutes.

Step 1 — Stop

Freeze. Don't Move.

Whatever you're doing, pause. Don't reach for your phone, your keys, or a glass. Just stop.

The urge wants you to act on autopilot. By pausing, you break the automatic loop. You are not reacting. You are observing.

Put both feet flat on the floor. Feel the ground. You are here. You are safe. The urge is a wave — it will pass.

Step 2 — Breathe

4-4-4 Box Breathing

Follow the circle below. This resets your nervous system and takes you out of fight-or-flight mode.

Ready

Breathe as long as you need

Step 3 — Name It

What Are You Actually Feeling?

The urge to drink is a disguise. Underneath it is a real emotion. Tap the one that fits right now:

Step 4 — Redirect

Give Your Body Something Else

Your brain is asking for a chemical shift. Give it one that doesn't involve alcohol. Pick one and do it right now:

Physical: 20 jumping jacks, cold water on your wrists, chew ice, hold a cold can

Mental: Count backwards from 100 by 7s, name 5 things you can see, text someone

Replacement: Sparkling water with lime, hot tea, kombucha, a piece of dark chocolate

Do one of these for 60 seconds. Don't think about it. Just move. Action breaks the loop.

Step 5 — Reaffirm

Remind Yourself Who You're Becoming

Read this slowly. Say it out loud if you can:

"That was a wave, and I rode it.
I don't need alcohol to handle this.
Every urge I survive rewires my brain.
I am becoming someone who doesn't need to drink."

The craving is weaker now. Maybe it's gone. Either way, you just proved that you're stronger than the urge.

🏆

Urge Defeated.

You just proved the urge doesn't control you. Each time you do this, the neural pathway weakens. It literally gets easier.

You've used this protocol 1 time(s). Every one of those is a win.

How Did That Feel?

Before the exercise

After the exercise

Saved ✓

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