When considering treatment of substance use, methamphetamine addiction presents distinct challenges. Meth use is reinforced not only by its intense euphoria but also by the way it temporarily heightens focus, energy, and confidence. These very qualities can be deeply appealing to individuals struggling with depression, trauma, or an underlying sense of ineffectiveness. Once dependence develops, clients often face a cycle of exhaustion, craving, and emotional instability that can be extraordinarily difficult to interrupt. Cravings emerge suddenly and with force, driven by both physiological desire and environmental associations. They can be triggered by sensory cues — music, smells, familiar places — or by internal states such as loneliness, fatigue, or shame.
Trigger identification from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and urge surfing from dialectical behavior therapy’s (DBT) mindfulness-based skill set offer complementary paths toward craving regulation. Trigger identification helps clients recognize the situations, thoughts, and emotional states that precipitate meth use, thereby increasing foresight and control. Urge surfing, by contrast, focuses on cultivating the capacity to stay present with craving as it unfolds, allowing it to rise and fall without acting on it. Together, they address both the predictive and tolerant dimensions of recovery: understanding what brings the wave, and learning to ride it.