Originally Posted by Radix

For me it's like this:

1. Something happens and I remember the "good" part of alcohol, which is that I can capture a much happier mood in about 10 easy minutes.

2. Once I remember that I can capture that mood, then the idea of not capturing it awakens a really uncomfortable mix of emotions: anxiety, longing, depression, unfairness, impatience. This is what I think a craving is.

3. It feels at this point like the only thing that will make the craving end is making a decision to drink. That's the beginning of the sober self detouring into the liquor store. Note that the time between #2 and #3 can only be a few seconds long.

4. Then I remember all the down sides to drinking: the fact that the gentle happiness fades as one drink invariably turns into 10, the shame at relapsing, the self-hatred for the lack of self-control, the blackouts, the hangovers, the being out of control, the mess. The rational mind starts "playing the tape forward."

5. Now the AV is speaking up loud and clear, presenting me with all the rationalizations and enabling that it does. Anything to prevent that horrible, icky feeling of the craving.

So that's how the sober self detours into the liquor store, IMHO. The process above can be kind of pre-conscious, meaning it can happen really fast, without spending too much time thinking about it. That's why the AVRT works so well for me: it gets me to slow down, to listen to the rationalizations my AV is making, and to counter them with my resolve to not drink, knowing that drinking comes at too high a price to bear.

I'm new to recovery, but the big breakthrough for me was realizing that the craving is temporary. In just a few moments, those icky feelings go away, and then I can walk on past the store without going in. I can tell the AV to shut up, because it's wrong that the only thing that will make the feelings go away is the decision to drink. That's a lie. The feelings do go away without drinking.

That's how I see it. Others' experiences will obviously be different.