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

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

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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. And before we dig in,
0:56.4	I'd like to take a moment to thank my sponsors who made this episode possible.
1:18.9	Cravings aren't just about wanting the taste of alcohol or the buzz they're the brain's way of trying to restore a reward that it's been trained to expect and for people who have had a long
1:25.9	intense relationship with drinking that training runs really deep.
1:30.6	Even when you've been sober for months or years, certain brain circuits can still light up, just like they did in the past.
1:37.8	When I got sober, I didn't crave alcohol at all, really, but I had three very intense urges during unexpected stressful moments
1:47.3	that were very hard for me to navigate. And although I didn't crave alcohol, I had plenty of
1:52.8	moments where I wondered if I was cured and if I could be a special occasion drinker. I know that
1:58.7	it can feel frustrating if you've been sober for a while and you still
2:02.3	have cravings, but that is just some people's journey. It doesn't mean that your sobriety is more
2:08.4	difficult than everyone else's. It just means that you have more difficulty in this one area.
2:15.3	Maybe something that's easy for you, is harder for others.
2:19.5	So here are three things that are going on in the brain for people with long-term cravings.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 26 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.