Hey Eric,
I'm a devout atheist too. Probably more of an antitheist if I'm honest, but I've decided not to get too hung up about that. Here in Ireland it would be all too easy to get hyped up about the hypocrisy of it all as you probably well know.
You say you have a problem having "faith" in a recovery method. The very word faith has religious overtones which is clearly anathema to you. Try the word trust instead.
"I trust AVRT." That sounds OK to me.
I don't think there's anything wrong with questioning anything. In fact, it's very healthy. I too have questioned AVRT and can absolutely find no holes whatsoever. And I am as headstrong as they come.
My BP is cast iron solid. I WILL NOT DRINK AGAIN. EVER.
What's not to believe?
Any other hint towards straying from my BP is the beast's AV. It's a neural pathway that I've nurtured for years. Of course there's resistance to my SELF actively changing the way I choose to react to the AV.
But, and here's the beauty of this simple method, I control my motor faculties. Not a, soon to become defunct, neural pathway which is after all merely a thought.
Modern brain scanning has shown that the brain can and does physically change. It is known as neural plasticity. So in time, my brain structure will change and the thoughts of drinking will become progressively weaker.
So it's ME who decides whether my hands lift a drink to my lips and, tough tittie beast, that's not happening.
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