Originally Posted by
daredevil 
Algo: I hope you are doing well, with the health condition you articulated. Your insight is always appreciated (by me). That said, if I want to, and choose to, drink, how is my beast? Does the separation only happen post-quitting, or post-familiarity with AVRT?
Your Beast would be fine in that case. It wanted to be fed, asked to be fed, and you agreed that it must indeed be fed.
It helps to understand that in addiction, as a state of ambivalence, there are, in fact, two survival mentalities competing with each other for control. The AV is a comprehensive style of thinking centered around the mandate of just one of those mentalities, and serves to both protect and further its own interests.
Most of the time, the forlorn addict simply lives out the dictates of their Addictive Voice, as if it were Gospel, and the Beast were a higher power unto itself. Every now and again, however, usually after some disaster brought on by living out said Gospel, the other, native survival mentality gets a grip. The AV breaks down, at least temporarily.
This provides an opportunity to take strong action against the Beast. Most of the time, that opportunity is wasted, and in time, the Beast reorganizes, as it must. Sometimes, however, it leads to the definitive awakening, rather than a gradual return into the chain, if I might borrow from Albert Camus.
That definitive awakening, of course, is what comes from finally expelling that rogue mentality from consciousness, by finally recognizing it as ego-alien. As separate from self.
Familiarity with AVRT can provide a framework for understanding, but by itself, it will no more bring about the necessary separation than a hammer will drive in a nail. It is simply a tool, contrived for the purpose of living comfortably with residual addictive desire.
Originally Posted by
daredevil And, if you encountered a calamity where it wouldn’t be a direct noticeable detriment to your health, would you drink over it?
Who is asking this question? You, or your Beast?