Urge Surfing: How Riding the Wave Breaks Bad Habits

We all experience cravings, sometimes daily.
For some, it might be chocolate, caffeine, or social connection, while for others, it can be more serious, including gambling, out-of-control spending, alcohol abuse, or the use of illicit drugs (Harris et al., 2017; Bowen & Marlatt, 2009).
While often benign, cravings can result in unhealthy, potentially damaging behaviors that can lead clients to seek help from medical practitioners, counselors, and coaches.
‘Urge surfing’ offers a mindfulness-based approach to managing cravings through developing an accepting, non-reactive outlook towards them and has proven helpful in treating various addictions (Abouzed et al., 2020).
This article explores urge surfing and its potential to help clients ride the wave and break their bad habits.
Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Self-Compassion Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you increase the compassion and kindness you show yourself and will also give you the tools to help your clients, students, or employees show more compassion to themselves.