The craving is worst when we cannot envisage how we can cope in a certain situation without a drink. When we have got through such a situation without a drink, and if for a brief period we have actually started to enjoy ourselves (or ceased being miserable), the next time the craving is slightly less potent as we are not coming at it from the point of view that we cannot imagine how we can cope without a drink, we are coming at it from the point of view that we can cope and even, for brief periods, actually enjoy ourselves.
