Terminally Unique

Paddy,

I was going to write an even longer response than this, but RobbyRobot covered many of the points I would have made, saving me some time.

As far as langkah's remarks on urge surfing, CBA's, and dealing with voices go, you can just take that with a grain of salt. After three decades of being around drunks, he has an uncanny ability to predict the addictive thought process, but he nevertheless views all other recovery paradigms as the proverbial Step Zero, and routinely says so all over the net. I happen to enjoy his sometimes snide remarks, and often appreciate his insights, but I don't take anything he says personally.

I also wouldn't take Boleo's "psychological tips and tricks" remarks too personally. Although I questioned his "completely removed, root and branch" argument, it was because I know that what he does in practice is probably very similar to what I do with AVRT. Indeed, he is one of the very few AA's I've run across that has spoken of the subjective experience of detachment, which is essentially what AVRT feels like in practice. I don't actually have to "deal with" a voice in my head; I completely dissociate from it.

Regarding the conflation of different models of addiction, I can see how that might concern you. Still, we can't always explain everything to our liking. For example, while AVRT does not require a "Higher Power" to put to use, which suits my atheist world-view, I am nevertheless keenly aware that AVRT is essentially a working model of free will and old-school moralism. It actually has far more in common with the traditional Christian view of addiction and recovery — where addiction itself is viewed as sin — than with AA or any psychological model. I haven't quite reconciled this entirely, and I could get hung up on it, but I choose not to.

My advice is to find something that works for you, and to disregard what everyone else says about it. At the end of the day, you are ultimately responsible for your own life, no?