Ustacallmelola

I ordered the book and took the crash course. I am wondering if anyone used a combination of methods. I was in NA back in the 90's and was taught through the program about the Beast. I have always seen my addictions as separate from myself, but that has been of little help lately with my drinking. It did help a lot back then and I was able to effectively separate myself from the monster inside of me and keep it in check. Logically I know this. I logically know I want to be free from this addiction like I wanted to and became free of smoking. I have successfully battled addictions to cigarettes, cocaine, and pot over the last 20 years. I do not do any of those things anymore and have zero desire. I did it all being able to separate myself from the addiction.

This time is different and I do not know why. I am wondering if I need additional resources or support. Anyone have feedback?

DesertDawg

Well, you can attend AA meetings without any obligation to work the program. I didn't go all in on AA, but meetings helped me in early sobriety. I was already using AVRT, but I think being able to commiserate with other recovering alcoholics really helped. I had/have zero interest in, and no intention of, either getting a sponsor or working the 12 steps of AA, for myriad reasons. In my experience, people were not really pushy about that, either. But I enjoyed the meetings for the fellowship element they provided. The combination has worked for me for almost 9 months so far, by far the longest I've been sober for the last 6 years or so.

Just my experience.

Algorithm

As far as AVRT is concerned, these are the relevant definitions.

Beast. 1. The desire to get high, to drink or use drugs. 2. Addictive desire. Often used synonymously with "Addictive Voice," but more accurately, the appetite or desire for substance-induced pleasure. 3. Addictive Voice is to Beast as bark is to dog. (AV → Beast = Bark → Dog)

Addictive Voice. 1. Any thinking or feeling that supports, or even suggests, your future use of alcohol or drugs. 2. An expression of the appetite for pleasure induced by alcohol or drugs, or the Beast.

In other words, the Beast of AVRT, which cannot do anything except to 'bark' AV, is the same addictive desire over which one admits being powerless in Step 1 of NA, and which one implores a higher power to restrain on their behalf. This is a crucial difference.

Another crucial difference is that in AVRT, the Beast is not the cause of our addiction, and we don't focus on warding off or removing the Beast, because we know that the Beast is ultimately powerless. Instead, the Addictive Voice - the 'bark' of the Beast - is the cause of addiction.

AVRT is patterned after the Addictive Voice itself, matching it point for point, so that it has nowhere to hide. AVRT is a voracious mind-set that devours anything that poses as a condition of lifetime abstinence, including 'support'.

In the logic of AVRT, the thought, "I need support in order to stay sober" is AV, because it means "I may not not stay sober if I don't have support", and therefore suggests the possible future use of alcohol/drugs. It fits the definition of the AV, and is, in fact, the AV undermining confidence to abstain.

While I'm the topic of confidence, all self-doubt about your own ability to permanently abstain is also the Addictive Voice. Why? Because it supports and suggests the possible future use of alcohol/drugs.

Are you starting to see how AVRT works?

soberlicious

YOU are not wondering that...but your Beast is...(as Algorithm pointed out above.)