Urge Surfing & How It Can Reduce Cravings

Cutting your alcohol intake can be tough. When the itch for a drink hits, it can feel difficult to ignore. Rather than feeling a suggestion, it can feel like a physical demand.

Whether it’s 5:00 PM on a Tuesday or a high-stress moment that sends you reaching for a bottle, the sudden internal pressure can feel like it’s going to break you unless you give in.

But there is a specific way to handle that “must-have-a-drink” feeling without giving in or white-knuckling it until you’re exhausted.

It’s called Urge Surfing.

First things first, what are urges?

Urges are strong, often uncontrollable, desires or cravings which lead you to act in a certain way. Typically, they’re seen negatively, the type of craving which results in behaviours you’d rather avoid. For example, someone may feel the urge to drink an alcoholic drink despite having promised to cut down. But as the old adage goes, it’s easier said than done.

It’s important to recognise that urges are a normal part of the human experience. They’re heavily linked to what’s called the brain reward system. At it’s most simple, when we do something beneficial for our survival, we get a spike in dopamine. This spike causes tells our brain that we are now satisified and gives us a sense of pleasure. But it can get a little mixed up.

For example, whenever we take a sip of a drink, our dopamine will spike. That’s because we need to hydrate to survive and by increasing dopamine, we feel pleasure and satisfication, creating a “reward” for a beneficial behaviour.

Unfortunately, unhealthy drinks also have the same effect. In fact, they often cause greater dopamine spikes. That’s because they contain other ingredients which trick our brain into thinking it’s beneficial for survival, i.e. a high sugar content. The final frustration is that the dopamine system is one that learns. The more we engage in a behaviour which spikes dopamine, the more our body craves it. The brain-reward system starts to expect the

So, what is urge surfing?

Urge surfing is a mindfulness technique, developed by Dr Alan Marlatt, a Canadian-American psychologist and a major figure in relapse prevention and addiction treatment.

He identified how cravings are much like ocean waves, rising in intensity before they peak and then naturally subside. He developed this into a complete mindfulness practice aimed at helping those in addiction treatment. In short, it revolves around:

1. Identifying and naming the urge
2. Allowing the urge to build, mindfully visualising the increasing intensity as a wave that will break
3. Hitting the peak of the craving and then noticing it subside

Worry not, we’ll explore specific techniques for each stage of urge surfing a little later into this article.

Does it actually work?

Before we explain exactly how urge surfing works, it’s important to know that it’s not a perfect science. If it can be considered science at all, actually. That’s because studies into its efficacy are few and far between. That said, those few studies do look promising.

One such study, for the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, identified how urge surfing had a positive impact on those looking to quit smoking.

This study involved two groups. One actively used the mindfulness technique whenever they felt an urge, while the control group’s instructions were to carry on as normal, with no change to their urge management.

Interestingly, the number of urges felt in both groups remained consistent. However, those in the group tasked with mindfully “surfing the urge” smoked significantly fewer cigarettes in the 7 days following the initial study period.

A more recent analysis found similar results. This time, it focused on adolescents and a wide range of urge-based behaviours; from sexual activity to smoking and drinking alcohol. Again, it identified how urge surfing reduced responses to urges, as opposed to the frequency said urges were felt.

How to “Surf” the Craving

The next time the voice in your head starts bargaining for “just one,” don’t try to fight it head-on. That’ll end up giving the urge too much power over you. Instead, you want to observe the urge not be consumed by it. Follow these steps and watch the urge fade.

1. Name the urge

Don’t ignore the feeling. Call it out. Say, “I am having an urge to drink.” This small shift turns you from the owner of the urge, to the observer. It helps you recognise that it’s just a temporary sensation which will fade away.

2. Locate the urge

Where is the craving living right now? Does it present as a tightness in your chest? A knot in your stomach? A restlessness in your hands? Focus on the physical sensations rather than the thoughts of the drink. Is the sensation hot? Cold? Does it have a shape? Again, this helps you become the observer rather than the owner of the urge. It creates a small psychological distance between you and the craving.

3. Be mindful and focus on your breathing:

You don’t need fancy meditation to mindfully approach urge surfing. Just notice your breath. And when your craving is at an intense level, sit back and engage in deep breaths, counting (or naming) each intake of breath. A couple of minutes should be all it takes to navigate your thoughts away from the all-encompassing craving.

4. Ride the wave:

Use the above steps on repeat to identify and manage the discomfort from your craving. It will disappear.

Why This Works for Sobriety

We’ve all tried “Just Saying No,”. It’s exhausting. Urge surfing is different because:

1. It’s not a distraction.

You aren’t running away from the feeling. Instead, you’re proving to yourself that the discomfort is manageable while creating distance from it with mindfulness techniques. It’s all about becoming the observer of your cravings.

2. It builds “sobriety muscles.”

Every time you let a wave crash without picking up a glass, you’re training your brain that a craving is not a command. The dopaminergic system (what makes us crave things) is reinforced through repetition. Every time you drink makes it harder to stop. But the inverse is also true, every drink avoided makes it easier to avoid the next one.

Does healthy living make urge surfing easier?

It is much harder to surf a “big wave” if you are already depleted. In the recovery world, we know that being over-tired, hungry, or physically ill makes you vulnerable. Keeping your “tolerance muscles” strong means taking care of the basics.

1. Focus on good sleep – as close to 8 hours is generally recommended.
2. Eat decent food – that means vegetables, fruit, protein, fibre, healthy carbs. Many health professionals discuss the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and the rainbow technique.
3. Manage your stress levels – try to keep your days organised, this’ll help reduce urges which are a response to feeling overwhelmed.
4. Use supplements to help cravings: Supplements to help you stop drinking (like Sober Relief!) can help your body manage cravings better.

Learn more about how Sober Relief works or check out how each ingredient can help you manage cravings: acetate, bacopa monnieri, mct powder. And next time that familiar “need” hits, remember: you can’t stop the waves, but you can ride them until they break against the shore, leaving your psychological world all sunshine and a gentle breeze.