All you have to change...

All you have to change is everything about your life. Memory plays a huge effect on relapse, and when you put yourself in situations where you can be triggered, you will be more likely to relapse.

"Many brain imaging studies, using positron emission tomography, show that cues like viewing drug paraphernalia are enough by themselves to activate memory circuits and unleash drug craving. Where you are and what you are doing when you use a drug like cocaine is inextricably linked with the high. And these associations are stored not just in your conscious memory, but also in memory circuits outside your awareness.

This kind of pathologic learning lies at the heart of compulsive drug use. Long after someone has apparently kicked the habit, long after withdrawal symptoms subside, the individual is vulnerable to these deeply encoded unconscious associations that can set off a craving, seemingly out of the blue."

That's why AA asks you to get away from the old habits, the old haunts. It makes it easier to not crave your drug of choice when you're not in the same old positions. It's easy for things like don't go to a bar, but what about the regular memories? What about having a glass of wine with dinner? You're not going to skip dinner, right? I think in situations like that you can do little things: change your seat at the table. What worked for me for the first week was to put Snapple in a wine glass. I felt like I was indulging, and it helped me move on to doing something different. It gave me the memory of Snapple instead of wine, and makes me laugh now instead of crave.

And that's why they tell you you may have to lose your friends. A lot of us built relationships around booze. Luckily, I haven't had that problem. It seems like I've had solid friendships all along. But some don't have this luxury. So all you have to change is everything.