Originally Posted by
Gottalife 
Supernatural beings performing tricks etc all sounded a bit weird as also does the concept of the AV and the "beast". I never exprienced the AV in any conscious way. I just drank, because that's what I did. I thought anyone who didn't was a bit strange. Really, it was my thinking that was a bit strange, a bit defective. A head full of scrambled eggs is how I felt.
Unless recognized, the Addictive Voice is subjectively experienced as the self. The addicted person has no conscious idea of what is going on initially, and essentially lives out their AV, so to speak. That's simply what they do, if I may borrow your language.
Once big problems begin to mount as a result of the addiction, that subjective experience of AV as self may begin to break down, and the addicted person may begin to suspect that something is going on, but they may not put their finger on just what that something might be.
In that case, the breakdown of the AV experienced as self will usually be very short lived, and if they don't manage to clearly recognize what is going on, the AV will once again appear to be self in short order. They will usually drink again. Until the next catastrophe.
The premise behind AVRT is to maintain the separation between AV and self. If you recognize the AV as separate from self, you will abstain, and if you fail to recognize it, you will probably drink. Is recognition therefore a contingency on abstinence, and hence, Addictive Voice?
Perhaps, but although AVRT presumes the existence of free will -- the power of choice -- it is not simply 'swearing off', or even 'choosing not to drink today', either.
I agree with
paulokes about there being a fundamental difference between the AVRT approach and Surrender. This is where AVRT and the 12-Step program diverge, and AVRT is effectively Step Zero.
I also agree with there being various names out there for the Addictive Voice. The difference is that in AVRT, the AV is explicitly defined, and is considered the prime mover.