Craving and Approaching – Avoidance

A Step Essential to the Understanding of Craving

By Mary Jo Breiner M.S., Werner G. K. Stritzke, Ph.D., and Alan R. Lang, Ph.D.

Craving is only one component of the mental processes that influence drinking behavior.

Alcohol-related cues (ARCs) can set in motion a dynamic competition between inclinations to approach drinking and inclinations to avoid drinking. Craving can thus be integrated into a comprehensive model of decision making in which ambivalence or conflict is a key element.

The relative strength of each component of the ARC reaction can fluctuate over time as well as in response to both subjective states and environmental circumstances.

Simultaneously and independently evaluating these opposing responses puts clinicians in a better position to influence the relative weight that the patient assigns to the positive and negative outcomes of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Research & Health Vol. 23, No. 3, 1999

Understanding the Alcoholic’s Mind: The Nature of Craving and How to Control It

Related Reading:

Relapse Prevention Therapy Workbook: Managing Core Personality and Lifestyle Issues
The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited
Pocket Companion for Physical Examination & Health Assessment
Student Laboratory Manual for Physical Examination & Health Assessment
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