Originally Posted by
DoubtfulDebs 
i think the 'all or nothing' absolutism of avrt works because it replaces the need to assess each seperate urge (internal image, emotion, or external trigger etc) to drink with a simple rule - 'i will never drink again, and i will never change my mind'.
That was my experience as well. No need to recall all the bad stuff or ponder the pros and cons of drinking whenever an urge came. The answer was always the same: never.
Originally Posted by
DoubtfulDebs heaven knows i went years thinking i could examine each craving on a case-by-case basis and 99 times out of every hundred i'd lose, the 'beast' of my addicted mind/body knew my specific triggers and weak points only too well and unlike me it didn't give up until it got that one thing that it wanted.
Precisely. The beast is immutable, uses reason in its quest, and plays every side of every argument in order to be fed.
Originally Posted by
DoubtfulDebs but i can't really do this method justice, other people on here esp. avrt (the member) write better about this stuff than me and thank you for that twist on 'vertigo' - had that a few times and i will be using the new phrasing for sure!! i'll definitely be getting the new book when i get home.
A word of caution about the new book (
"The Art of AVRT"). It is an in-house publication, and contains many of Trimpey's ideas on subjects which I consider well outside the scope of addiction. It contains some rather provocative viewpoints. While I enjoyed parts of it, I can't really recommend it at this point, but that's just me.
Thanks for checking in, BTW. I was somewhat curious as to how things had worked out for you.