Hi RecklessEric, hope you’re OK. I would just add that you’re not “losing the battle to the AV” by agreeing with ITs plans to drink later in the day....you would only lose the battle IF you decided to follow the Beast’s whining AV and drink! Which you haven’t, and every time you don’t, those neuronal Connections supporting your non-drinking status, are strengthened.
Vertigo is the Beast’s AV on steroids. It’s an ‘almost’ overwhelming feeling, trying to propel you straight to the drink, that instant. Vertigo doesn’t plan for future drinking, like the standard level of AV, it wants the drink right here, right now. BUT it matters not, because whether standard AV or vertigo-type AV, it can be recognised in the same way. The power is in the recognition, the AV/vertigo type AV are NOT you....because you’ve decided not to drink.
Once you can recognise them, they will lose their power, but bear in mind, it’s recognition and dismissal, not battling, arguing and fighting. The recognition brings the power back to you, if you fight and battle, it will up its game, because it’s a learned survival brain-drive in pursuit of alcohol, a rogue survival-drive trying to help you survive and nothing else matters to it, but alcohol. To negate it, don’t argue, try to reason, or fight it.