“The third stage of addiction is related to craving. The frontal cortex, where we think things through, plan things out, and alter our behavior to meet our own needs, is the primary part of the brain that is altered.”

– Life with Hope, third edition, page xxviii

When I first stopped using marijuana, I was often assaulted by intense cravings to use again. Random thoughts of how and why I could use “one more time” came easily into my mind. As I stayed clean for a while, the intensity and frequency of cravings diminished; however, random thoughts of using did continue. Thoughts like these are not products of careful deliberation or executive brain functions. They are born out of the effects of marijuana withdrawal and out of old lifestyle habits.

It is important to dismiss such thoughts as products of my altered brain chemistry. The slogan “first thought: wrong” helps to remind me that my disease is responsible for cravings like these. I dismiss these thoughts without even analyzing why I’m having them; I just let them flow by. I am not accountable for an irrational first thought. I am accountable for my second thought and my first action.

Final thought: Today, I will let irrational first thoughts just flow by. I will remember “first thought: wrong.”