The Method
Replace the craving. Don't fight it.
I didn't set out to build a method. I was just trying to get through a night without a drink, and then another one, and I started paying attention to what actually worked instead of what I'd been told was supposed to work. This is what I noticed. You can read the full story of where it came from on my story page, and see the products I built it around in the shop.
Why I built this
A Ministry, First.
New Habits, New Hope is a ministry. I say that plainly because it's the truest word for what this is: I got sober with the help of other women, AA, and my faith, and this is me handing that back.
Faith Optional.
The method is the practical half of it, and it works whether or not you share my faith, and whatever it is you're trying to put down.
Whatever Works, Keep It.
AA has helped a lot of people, and if it's working for you, I'm not here to talk you out of it. Same for whatever program you've found, whether what you're quitting is drinking, smoking, or something else.
For The Ones In Between.
No program is everyone's answer, and neither is a therapist you can't afford to see every week. I wanted something for the people stuck in between: the ones who know they need to change but haven't found a way in that fits their life, their budget, or their personality.
What I Noticed.
Therapy gave me a place to understand what was happening to me, but it happened once a week, and the hardest moments never scheduled themselves around my appointments. And the meetings I went to sometimes turned into a contest over who'd had the worst week, without landing on what to actually do next.
Fixed, Not Discussed.
My whole career was being the person a business called when something was broken and needed fixing. That's the same instinct behind this: not another place to talk about the problem, but something you can actually do the next time a craving shows up.
How it actually works
- A craving is your brain looking for relief, and it doesn't care where it gets it
- So you hand it something else: a mint, a candy, a page of a book, a game
- You're not out-thinking the craving, you're busy until the wave passes
- Reach for the new thing and the old one loses a little of its grip
- No willpower mythology, and no shame if it takes a few tries
- Nothing to join, nothing to announce, nothing you can't afford
Whatever gets you through the next five minutes without the thing you're trying to quit, that's a new habit worth having.
Where I'm taking this
Right now, I'm in the first phase: a story, a method, and a shop of affordable products that support it.
My phase two is bigger, a free weekly Zoom community for people who want to change together, and eventually, nonprofit status so this work isn't limited by what an affiliate shop alone can fund. It's not open yet, but you can read about it and get on the list on the Community page.