We all have cravings that pop up throughout the day. My current temptations include the urge to eat all the leftover Easter eggs in my home at 3pm daily, and itching to check Whatsapp the minute I sit down to watch an hour-long drama that I’ve sworn I’ll concentrate on phone-free.
It’s likely you can think of more than a few insistent cravings of your own, but psychologists have a tip for tackling them, and it’s called ‘urge surfing’.
Forget all images of battling waves off the Cornish coast – this type of surfing is all conducted in your head.
It’s a mindfulness technique that can successfully help with food cravings, among other temptations, and basically involves ‘surfing the urge’ in your mind.
Whether that’s the urge to overspend, gamble, eat rubbish food or any other behaviour that temporarily lights up the reward system in your brain despite being detrimental in the long-term, this is a good way to tackle it, with numerous studies backing up its effectiveness.
So how does urge surfing work in practice? The first thing to remember is that an urge is just an urge – you have the choice over whether or not you act on it.
As psychologist Dr Claire Ogilvie writes in ablog post on the topic, you should ask yourself ‘If I act on this craving, will I be acting like the sort of person I want to be?
'Will it take me closer to, or further away from, where I want to get to?’
Urge surfing could be the answer to tackling food cravings (stock image)
If the answer to the first question is yes, then crack on – there’s little reason why you shouldn’t satisfy that urge.
But if the urge isn’t going to help you reach your goals, then instead of embarking on an internal struggle that only make the craving more powerful, try this technique instead.
Think of the urge as a wave: it starts off small, builds to a powerful crescendo, and then dissipates as it hits the shore. Cravings are the same. They build in intensity to a peak, and then subside.
‘When you’re in the grips of a craving, it can feel like the intensity will never stop building, but this isn’t true,’ says Ogilvie.
And the good thing is that the more you practise overcoming you cravings this way, the easier it will become to recognise your triggers and tackle the urges you don’t want to give in to.
5 steps to beat urges
1: Recognise the urge
When a craving first hits, observe what’s happening: what specifically are you craving? How does this feel in your body? Tune into the physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions associated with the urge. Do this without any self-judgement or resistance – a key part of the technique is self-acceptance.
2. Name the urge
Give words to what is happening (this can be done out loud, silently in your head, or in a note on your phone if you wish). I.e. ‘I am craving a piece of chocolate’.
Those lurking Easter eggs are a problem...
3: Prepare for the wave
Take some deep breaths – because you’re not going to try and push this craving away, you’re going to give it space to expend all its energy.
4: Observe the urge running its course
Here is the really tough bit. It’s time to watch the craving as it builds, peaks and then dissipates. It could be helpful to rate the intensity of the craving on a scale of 1 to 10 as you go. You could also visualise an actual wave in the ocean, rising in intensity before cresting and subsiding, which you ride without giving in to any impulsive actions.
Ogilvie says: ‘Your mind will probably start telling you stories about how you’re “weak”, or how if you just give in today you’ll be able to resist tomorrow. These are just more waves - try not to get tangled with these thoughts and just notice them. It can be helpful to keep a bit of distance from these thoughts by saying to yourself “I’m now having the thought that I want to smoke and that I’ll always be a smoker”. It’s just a thought and the craving part of your brain trying to convince you to give in to the urge.’
Remind yourself that the urges will eventually pass if you allow them to.
5: Shift back to the present
As your cravings subside, bring yourself back into the present moment. Shift your focus to your surroundings or the rhythm of your breath.
You can pat yourself on the back if you have successfully managed to ride the wave. But remember, just as with learning to surf, everyone falls off the board sometimes – so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have a 100% hit rate. Perfection is impossible, but by practising the technique of urge surfing repeatedly, it should become an easy but powerful habit to fall back on in the future.
