Cravings vs. Triggers: What’s the Difference

Cravings vs. Triggers: What’s the Difference—According to Your Brain

For the longest time, I thought cravings and triggers were the same thing. Someone would say, “That bar is a trigger,” or “I had a craving when I saw that wine bottle,” and I just lumped it all together. But the deeper I got into studying the brain—and understanding my own—it became clear they’re not the same. And knowing the difference gave me power.

So, let’s break it down.

A trigger is an external or internal cue. It’s something that activates a memory, emotion, or association. Think: the sound of ice clinking in a glass, the smell of beer, the feeling of stress at 6 p.m., or a lonely Friday night. Triggers are like buttons in your brain that get pushed, often without warning.

A craving, on the other hand, is your brain’s response to the trigger. It’s the urge. The intense desire. The “I need it right now” feeling. Cravings are internal—they live in your body, in your nervous system, in your neurochemistry. They’re your brain trying to solve a problem the way it used to: with alcohol.

Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes:

When you encounter a trigger, your brain activates something called the mesolimbic dopamine system—the same circuitry involved in motivation, reward, and memory. If alcohol used to be your solution to stress, social anxiety, boredom, or celebration, your brain remembers that. Even if you’ve been sober for a while, those old associations are still stored in your neural pathways.

And once that circuit lights up? Boom—craving.

Here’s where it gets tricky: cravings don’t mean you’re failing. They mean your brain is working exactly as it was trained to. The good news? You can retrain it.

I’ve found that the best way to reduce cravings is actually to reduce how often your triggers activate them. That doesn’t mean avoiding everything forever—but it does mean building awareness.

Try this:

• Identify your top 3 external triggers (places, people, sounds).

• Identify your top 3 internal triggers (feelings, thoughts, times of day).

• Map them to the cravings they produce.

The next step is to build a new association. Your brain needs a new response—one that gives you relief, peace, control. It could be a cold shower, a text to a sober friend, a breathing technique, or simply leaving the room. What matters is that you respond intentionally instead of automatically.

The space between trigger and craving is your power zone. It’s the space where you say, “I see what’s happening, and I’m choosing something different.” That’s how you rewire your brain. That’s how you take back control.

So the next time a craving hits, ask yourself: What triggered this? What story is my brain replaying? And what do I want to tell it instead?

The more you decode this pattern, the less power it holds. And eventually, that trigger that once had you sprinting toward a drink? It becomes just a memory—one your brain no longer needs to follow.

If you would like more information on how to get rid of triggers and cravings all together (according to how the brain works), please email me here: [email protected]