Originally Posted by
wellwisher 
I see a parallel between the beast and some imagery used during a group exercise used in rehab I did all those years ago. We were encouraged to "look inside" and give the disease a form. (Now I know AVRT does not buy into the disease concept, but just bear with me).
There are some similarities in methodology. Anyone who has ever attended a recovery group meeting has undoubtedly heard people speak of their disease as if it had a mind of its own, as in "my disease is trying to kill me." They are, in effect, objectifying their addiction, which is what one does with AVRT. Indeed, many who reject the disease concept in favor of psychological theories of addiction also reject AVRT on account of this similarity.
Originally Posted by
wellwisher A second visualization that comes to mind that I employed was the "sleeping tiger". Basically, the tiger represents alcoholism, and once I removed myself from the obsession, the tiger becomes a sleeping tiger. It is always there, but it is silent. All I have to do is add alcohol, and the tiger stirs and comes fully awake; ready to take over my life. That visual embraces the disease model of alcoholism.
This is accurate. The Beast will eventually weaken from starvation (abstinence), but it is still there. If you feed it, even years later, it will certainly come back to life, as if rising from the ashes.