Is It Normal to Miss Your Addiction? By Gray Gaudett
Is It Normal to Miss Your Addiction?
By Gray Gaudett
What you crave may matter more to recovery than experiencing cravings itself.
Cravings are a normal part of recovery, and learning how to cope with them is a common part of the recovery process. Often, this means planning ahead and avoiding situations, such as going to a bar, that remind you of your addiction.
But not all cravings come from external triggers. Sometimes cravings are sparked by memories of your addiction—experiences you cannot simply plan to avoid or walk away from. This can result in something even more confusing: cravings can make you miss your addiction.
Why does this happen? The answer might be nostalgia.
How Do Cravings Impact Recovery?
Cravings are often explained in two ways. The first is that they arise from withdrawal, or the discomfort that shows up when reducing or stopping your addiction. In this sense, craving is about wanting relief from unpleasant symptoms. But this explanation only goes so far. It does not explain why cravings can show up long after withdrawal has passed or why people who have behavioural addictions, such as gambling, can experience cravings.
Another way of understanding cravings is to see them as being driven by rewards, such as the excitement, euphoria, or relief linked to your addiction. Certain thoughts, memories, or feelings can bring these “rewards” to mind, triggering cravings even when you know the behaviour is harmful. This can feel confusing: you know why you are in recovery, but part of you might still long for these “positive” aspects of your addiction.
There might be another way to think of cravings. Craving can make emotionally charged memories of your addiction resurface, and these emotions might be what give cravings power.
Missing Your Addiction
One emotion that may arise from cravings is nostalgia (a sentimental longing for your addiction). Nostalgia is often talked about as a helpful emotion, and sometimes it is. Remembering who you were before your addiction can motivate recovery. But nostalgia is not always helpful. Missing your addiction itself—how it felt, social connections, or feeling a sense of purpose—can make relapse feel tempting.
How do Cravings and Nostalgia Impact Recovery?
We wanted to know how craving and nostalgia influence each other, and how this impacts recovery. We found that there is a reciprocal relation between craving and nostalgia. When participants experienced cravings, they were also more likely to feel nostalgic for their addiction. When participants felt nostalgic for their addiction, they often experienced stronger cravings. In other words, there seems to be a reciprocal relation between gambling and craving that can make staying on the recovery path challenging.
Planning for Success
Craving can elicit nostalgia for the addiction, which can make recovery challenging. To stay on track, recovery can include noticing when these memories arise, challenging idealized views of the past, and reframing them. Recovery plans that address both craving and nostalgia can help strengthen recovery commitment and reduce risk of relapse.
For further reading
Gaudett, G. E., Tabri, N., Stefaniak, A., Sedikides, C., Wildschut, T., & Wohl, M. J. A. (under initial review). Future desires, past longings: Craving and nostalgia as mutual reinforcing factors that undermine recovery. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science.