E291: Why You May Still Crave Alcohol Long Term, and Why No Cravings Doesn’t Mean You’re “Cured”

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC

Mental Health, Education, Science, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We tend to think of cravings as the enemy in sobriety. If you still want to drink, it must mean you’re doing something wrong. And on the other side, if the cravings go away, it’s tempting to think you’re finally “cured.” Cravings are not a sign of weakness, and the absence of cravings doesn’t mean you’re going to be a special occasion drinker. They’re both just snapshots of what’s happening in your brain at a particular moment in time, not the whole story. In today’s episode, we’re going to look at why alcohol cravings can stick around for months or even years after you quit, what’s actually happening in your brain when you don’t feel a craving, and why both states carry their own risks. We’ll dig into long-term vulnerability, even when you feel “over it,” and how you can use that knowledge to stay steady in your recovery. What to listen to next: E241: 6 Theories of Alcohol Cravings E283: Alcohol Shortens Your Perception of Time (Instant Gratification) E284: Reward Substitution: Healthy vs. Harmful Replacements for Alcohol E278: Intrusive Thoughts About Drinking When You’re Already Sober & 3 Ways to Deal E270: Cravings Increase After Quitting Drinking and Peak Around 60 Days Sober and 6 Months Sober E266: Can You Drink Again After a Break? Work with me: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching Weekly email: You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free Courses: The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course Don’t try harder, try different https://www.soberpowered.com/willpower Support the show: If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	We tend to think of cravings as the enemy in sobriety.
0:05.0	If you still want to drink, then it must mean that you're doing something wrong.
0:09.0	And on the other side, if the cravings go away, it's tempting to think that you're finally cured.
0:15.0	Cravings are not a sign of weakness, and the absence of cravings don't mean that you can be a special occasion drinker either.
0:23.1	They're both just snapshots of what's happening in your brain at a particular moment in time,
0:29.3	not the whole story. In today's episode, we're going to look at why alcohol cravings can stick
0:34.9	around for months or even years after you quit, what's actually
0:39.4	happening when you don't feel a craving, and why both states have their own risks.
0:45.5	We'll also talk about long-term vulnerability even when you feel like you're past that,
0:50.8	and how you can use that knowledge to stay steady in your sobriety.
0:55.0	And before we dig in, I'd like to take a moment to thank my sponsors who made this episode possible.
1:01.0	When I quit drinking, I didn't have the mental bandwidth to keep my house clean on top of trying to learn how to function like a normal person and feel my emotions.
1:11.2	So I had all this shame build up for years about the state of my house.
1:15.8	When we moved two years ago, I used it as a fresh start to keep my new house clean,
1:20.3	and I've done that with the help of house cleaners.
1:22.6	They hold me accountable because I can't blow up my house because I know they're going to be back in two weeks.
1:28.2	And this is why I'm excited to tell you about HomeGlow. You can instantly book a trusted
1:33.6	background check cleaner online for a one-time deep clean or on a regular schedule. Every
1:40.0	cleaner passes a rigorous certification process and 100% of cleaning fees and tips go straight to them.
1:46.9	HomeAglow is available in the U.S. and in my experience, if it's in your budget, then I can't
1:51.6	recommend it more. Take home cleaning off your plate this fall by using HomeGlo.
1:56.0	Head to homeaglow.com slash power to get your first three hours of cleaning for only $19. That's
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