Algorithm

You may think that there is little foot traffic, because not as many people post as elsewhere, but take a look at the "views" counter on this thread alone, Tatsy. As of right now, I see that 2,885 different members have viewed your thread.

The counter does not go up if the same member views a thread more than once, and I don't believe it goes up when lurkers read it, either, and there are probably four lurkers for every member. People may not be posting, but someone is definitely reading.

You have to remember that addicted people usually doubt their own ability to escape from the prison of addiction, a feeling which their Addictive Voice will certainly reinforce. In that context, there is a strange appeal to the support group idea, and accounts for much of the instant bonding between the newly abstinent.

Eventually, though, a number of them may realize that a pool filled with non-swimmers is not necessarily a good place to learn how to swim on their own, and that they might possibly do better by finding some experienced swimmers to learn from. Their AV will naturally steer them elsewhere, however.

It may help for you to understand that AVRT is a seed idea that usually builds on its own, and helps you see straight once again. Your own experience with AVRT would appear to validate this. In other words, there is no need to carry the message, in the style of the RGM, per se.

AVRT is recovery as education, not treatment, and it can be learned from reading, from discussion, and from seeing it in action. How many tens of thousands who do not post have read through the AVRT discussion threads and finally gotten it, as you did, I wonder?

Probably far more than its progenitors envisioned at the outset.

Rational Recovery does not officially take credit for the success of people who use AVRT to recover from addiction, but I'm content to simply have a descriptor under my user name saying that I use AVRT. If anyone is interested in learning more, they can contact me rather easily.

Others on the forums, including those in recovery groups, have similar descriptors in their signature, so I can't say that I came up with this idea. I may have stolen the idea from freshstart57.

Sometimes I will ask provocative questions to flush out the Beast, however. It loves to hide from its host, after all.

I would wager that many people share your frustration there, Tatsy, but life is a learning experience, unfortunately. We can't undo the past, however, so don't let the Beast wield any regrets you may have as a club.

As far as AVRT goes, leaving SR would not pose any problem, and RR encourages moving on to independent living, even from their own web site. If you are sincere about wanting to help others avoid your mistakes, or if you simply want to contribute to the discussion, you could keep posting, to the extent that free time allows.

From where I stand, I believe that you could contribute more than many others, given how you've absorbed some of the concepts of AVRT. It's up to you, however, so no pressure.