Why is this even an important question?
Feelings drive all of our actions.
And they give us clues to the thoughts that fuel our habit.
Sometimes it’s easy to identify the emotion connected to your drinking.
Stress
Loneliness
Boredom
Shyness
Those feelings are uncomfortable so we seek relief from them, and drinking, snacking, or social media are easy escapes.
Sometimes you might have the urge to drink and you can’t tell what feeling it’s connected to. If so ask yourself, “if I don’t have a drink right now, what will I feel?” What comes up?
Restless?
Deprivation?
In these cases, it’s less about trying to escape an uncomfortable emotion and more about preventing one.
Habitual behavior doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s preceded by a thought and a feeling.
Always.
Identifying the emotion connected to your habit brings awareness to how it works and, as a result, is a guidepost for how to start to change it.