Cravings are intense, specific urges that motivate approach and consumption of a particular target — whether a substance (alcohol, nicotine, opioids, cannabis), food (typically high-sugar, high-fat, or high-salt), or behaviour (gambling, sex, gaming). They are neurobiologically mediated through mesolimbic dopaminergic reward circuitry and are distinct from general appetite or preference by their specificity, urgency, and difficulty of resistance. In substance use disorders, cravings represent conditioned responses to internal states (stress, boredom, negative emotion) and environmental cues (places, people, objects associated with use).

What lifestyle changes can help with cravings?

Identifying craving triggers (HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) enables alternative responses before acting. Structured regular meals reduce hunger-driven food cravings. Removing craving cues from the immediate environment reduces stimulus-driven urges. Physical activity activates alternative reward pathways and reduces craving intensity. Urge surfing and mindfulness practices build the pause capacity that allows cravings to pass without acting.

What integrative approaches support cravings?

Urge surfing — a mindfulness-based technique in which the individual observes craving as a wave that rises and falls without acting on it — has evidence across addiction and eating disorder contexts. Pharmacological craving reduction: naltrexone for alcohol and opioids; varenicline and NRT for nicotine; lisdexamfetamine for binge eating. CBT addresses craving-triggering thoughts and high-risk situations. Structured stimulus control (removing cue exposure) reduces craving frequency.

When should I seek professional support for cravings?

Seek support when cravings are driving harmful behaviour (substance use, binge eating, purging), causing significant distress, or impossible to manage alone. Addiction medicine, eating disorder services, or doctor referral depending on context. Urge-surfing and CBT skills can be self-taught with appropriate resources but benefit from therapeutic support for severe presentations.

emotionalComplementaryHolistic

Cravings

A compelling, specific urge for a particular substance, food, or activity that feels strong, intrusive, and difficult to resist.

Understand what may be causing this

Reviewed by Dr. Ava Gardner · Integrative Medicine Researcher26 March 2026High Evidence

Quick answer

Cravings describe intense, specific urges for a substance, food, or behaviour that go beyond ordinary desire and may feel difficult to resist. ICD-10: F10–F19 (substance dependence), R63.2 (polyphagia); ICD-11: 6C40–6C4Z. A transdiagnostic feature of addiction, eating disorders, and hormonal states with neurobiological underpinnings in reward circuitry.

Recognition