"I am hoping ACE kicks in sooner than later!"
the ACE is the Abstinence Commitment Effect
" I said the words, but did I really mean that I would NEVER drink again? It's still not firmly rooted in me. "
What do you think it is that is stopping you from firmly rooting ?
"..when a craving hits"
How would you describe the craving expereince, that you are having a craving or IT is?
It seems you have been really good at 'identifying' the beast/AV and 'seeing' it, but how do you feel about having achieved a degree of separation, if any? I'm not, (would never intend to) criticize your approach, but do you think you have fully separated the AV from YOU?
In AVRT you really can't even say " I get in my head the idea of having a drink" ( not saying this is what you said/meant) , because any idea of future drinking
is AV any doubt that a BP is posible
is AV, not you . IT wants a drink now and in the future( IT actually has no real concept of temporal time, for IT it is always now and IT always wants), the idea of having a drink is the AV in your head, the separation is recognizing the idea as coming from IT, the idea may pop into Your head, but it is ITs idea. You don't drink and never will again, how can that idea come
from you , yeah ?
It's kind of 'wonky' , awkward to speak/think in terms of being and or practicing the separartion but it becomes natural to think in those terms, and at some point it becomes hard to remember thinking about alcohol use in terms other than these, ipso facto the ACE
