Targeted types of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy do just that. In short, there is certainly promise in treating these symptoms. Emotions are funny things. We feel them constantly, and we are taught to trust them at a very early age. Emotions tell us what is important to us in those situations and how we should be reacting – they tell us what we want and need. Urge surfing is a mindfulness technique can be used to help with any addictive behaviour such as gambling, overeating, inappropriate sex or any other destructive impulses. Urges for substance use rarely last for very long if there is no opportunity to indulge them.
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
Urge Surfing Prevents Relapses.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
Don’t let urges knock you down.
Urge surfing is an idea that comes from substance use disorder treatment. Learning to cope with urges can help prevent relapses into depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and many other mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.
A coworker and I discussed the similarities between surfing on the ocean and surfing urges. He is an avid surfer and tells me that not having a good relationship with the waves can leave scars. Ignoring urges and what is causing them can leave mental and emotional scars.
What is an urge?
Urges are sudden, intense impulses to do something. People with urges often feel compelled to act. When the idea enters the mind, it can become a compulsion. Urges can be intense, unpleasant sensations. Once the urge arises, it is hard to avoid acting on it. Wrestling with urges results in a lot of relapses into unhelpful thinking, and unhealthy behaviors.
Urges rise and fall.
Urges, in the early stages, can come on slowly and gradually, other times they rise rapidly, like a heavy ocean swell. You could easily be swept away before you realize the danger of the urge. The challenge with urges is to maintain your position without being carried away by the urge. Typically urges last 20 to 30 minutes.
Concentrating too much on ocean waves leaves you unprepared when they arrive. You should prepare for the rising and falling urges ahead of time also.
Wrestling urges, wears you out.
The typical response to urges is to try to avoid thinking about them and resist acting. The more you struggle, the more tired you become. Trying to not think about something makes the thought grow. To defeat urges you need to do two things. First, do not give in. Sometimes giving in and sometimes not amounts to intermittent reinforcement, one of the hardest things to overcome. Second, don’t exhaust yourself swimming directly into the urge. Practice floating above the surface, riding out the comings and goings of urges.
Urges can affect your thinking, your feelings, and your behavior.
Surfers who develop a negative attitude don’t last long. If you engage in self-criticism, telling yourself you should have caught the last wave, you need to wait for the next one; you don’t surf, you get washed ashore. Having cravings and urges is a natural part of recovery. Don’t beat yourself up for having urges. Having urges can make you feel like you’re not doing recovery correctly. Don’t let your urges take you places you should not go. Stick to the behaviors that will further your recovery.
Make peace with your urges.
Surfing the urges allows you to reach a place of neutrality where you neither wrestle the urge nor give in to it. What you need to do is to step back from the urge and begin to watch it as an outside observer. From this vantage point, you will see that your urges rise and fall. If you can stay in this relaxed state for a time, the urge recedes.
Accept that it is okay to feel however you are feeling.
You do not have to take action to change your feelings. Your life is a real life. There are things you like about it, and there are things that you will not like. Sometimes you will feel happy, and sometimes sad. Sometimes you will be calm, and sometimes you will be anxious. The key to making peace with your feelings, and not being swept away by urges, is to learn to recognize what you are feeling without rushing to change that feeling.
What feeling is coming up for you?
As you feel the urges rising, work on identifying what that feeling is. Are you feeling anxious, depressed, or frustrated? When urges rise, you may be thinking about others. Are you telling yourself it’s not fair that you must quit drinking or drugging, while others are continuing to do these things?
Learn the signs of oncoming cravings.
A water surfer notices the wave coming. Begins to paddle before the wave reaches them. They are up to speed when the wave reaches them. Notice the onset of uncomfortable feelings when urges are on the rise. Pay attention to increases in unhelpful thoughts. Watch your body for signs of negative emotions, that pain in the neck, the queasy stomach.
Practice urge reduction skills before the urge waves wash over you. Learn grounding techniques, scanning your body for tension, and use other relaxation methods. Breathing is especially important when it comes to keeping your head above water. Positive self-talk, affirmations, and grounding techniques can keep you prepared for the next round of urges.
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
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My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
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Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch.Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
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At Columbus Park, we use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to teach mindfulness skills that patients can use to better tolerate the thoughts, emotions, and urges they experience. One of those skills is urge surfing.
Urge surfing is a mindfulness technique used to get through an urge without acting on destructive impulses. When you notice an urge, rather than fighting against it, imagine you are on a surfboard riding with it. Notice the shifting sensations, how they rise and fall, come and go. Try to observe and describe the urge in a nonjudgmental and nonattached manner.
Like waves, urges rise, building up to their cresting point, and then fall. As the intensity of an urge builds, it feels like it is going to keep on getting worse, and that if you don’t give in to it, it will last forever. When you experience an urge and then act on the impulse, your brain makes the connection that you can only make the urge go away by engaging in the behavior. However, research tells us that urges typically last for 20-30 minutes, which means the feeling will pass whether you engage in a behavior or not. Over time, you are able to reteach your brain that it is possible to experience an urge without acting on it.
Urge Surfing Beat Cravingsdialectical Behavioral Training Near Me
One way to surf the urge is by breaking it down into 1 or 5 minute intervals – set a timer, and when the timer goes off – reassess your urge. In this way, you can make the time riding out the urge more manageable and break the connection between the urge and behavior.
Most any of the DBT distress tolerance skills would be suitable! In DBT, we love acronyms, and I’ll go into further detail about crisis survival skills like TIP, ACCEPTS, and IMPROVE in future blogs. In general, finding things that distract, relax, and/or change your physiology are helpful in riding the wave. Below are some examples you might find effective:
- Hold ice in your hand, or against your face/forehead/neck
- Take a warm shower
- Take a few minutes to focus on your breathing – slow and steady.
- Call a friend or family member
- Play a playlist of your favorite songs
- Watch funny You Tube videos
- Light a scented candle or use some scented lotion or oils
- Imagine a very relaxing scene or re-pay a joyful memory in your mind
- Say encouraging statements to yourself as though you are talking to your best friend
Urge Surfing Beat Cravingsdialectical Behavioral Training Techniques