SoberKnitter

I'm new to the game and not great at articulating my view of this, but I'll try...

Have you ever been trying not to drink and you get into an argument in your head? You know, part of you wants to drink but part of you knows it's wrong for you? The part of you that knows it's wrong is you and the part that argues in favor of drinking is the beast. The beast isn't big - it's actually powerless. It has to get you to do its bidding. That's what I think the beauty of this technique is. I often say that it's like becoming lucid in a nightmare and suddenly realizing that the monster chasing you isn't real. My beast can do nothing but pester and annoy me. Based on my experience, I never want to drink because, for me, drinking is very wrong in a moral sense. I'm very clear that I don't want to drink. Therefore, any thoughts about drinking are not my own; they are the AV. The beast has absolutely no power over me. It is very, very small.


Who cares if the thought of drinking comes to mind? It's not your thought! Just recognize it for what it is (AV). Thoughts of drinking are not harmful. They can't make you drink, and, besides, they are impossible to avoid when drinking has been a primary coping skill for a long time. My beast thinks about drinking ALL THE TIME. Fine, it can yap all it wants.


I don't think characterizing it as a battle is helpful. Why battle? IMHO, it's enough to just acknowledge that it's the AV. Once seen for what it is, it can't get you to do anything that you don't want to.