My biggest problem was "okay, but HOW DO I RECOGNISE MY ADDICTIVE VOICE?" How would I know when it was my sane reasoning, rational brain and when it ws that lying sneaky cheat of an AV??
Then someone told me (probably on here) - if it rationalising (making excuses for) taking a drink, then it's your AV.
Ohhhhh yeah!! Lol. I realised as long as I could remember that much then I would know when to ignore it.
That AV does get quieter and quieter the longer it's been starved - so the longer it is between your last drink and NOW, the quieter it will become.
We cannot do anything to actually shut the voice up. Nope. Only time will help on that score. So, its important to learn to recognise it and just ignore it and don't engage in debates with it. Have you ever tried arguing with someone who just lies about everything? If so you can imagine what debating drinking or not is like with your AV. It is inherantly dishonest, so there is no way to be a winner other than don't play in the first place, or, if you get sucked into an inner debate, as soon as you realise that's what is happening, take an official Time-Out and walk away immediately.
And its worth remembering, that much like flea eggs, those little buggers don't die off just because they seem inactive. It only takes us becoming an active host (by taking a drink) and that beast will hatch out and hop all over our brain again.
BB