The technique is used to create a ‘space’ (as the kids say) to ‘see’ the alien ego of the survival drive gone haywire that the Beast of a desire for coke or booze is. The separation let’s you identify all the motivations that stem from ‘different parts’ of You.
As an example , the money you need to indulge the Beast , where does the motivation come from ? Giving your description of the relative difficulty in repaying the supplier, I assume you do not have unlimited funds . Do you think about the amount of money and how it is a loss to your household income , meaning all those in your household bear the brunt of that loss in the total pie? Is that a motivating factor for you for continued use ? The Beast doesn’t weigh the decision to spend , it just wants more , it’s your job to deal with supply. If you’ve contemplated the wasted aspect of the money and opted to purchase anyway, then yeah there is no separation , in AVRT you are ‘all’ Beast , no separation.
You’re here on SR discussing these topics , to me that means there is separation already at the very least a willingness to create it and expand it.
Please don't take my words as a personal condemnation . One of the biggest factors that helped me lock up my Beast was brutal self honesty. Along with confrontation, not one of my favorite things , at least in the past and especially when I was letting the Beast run free .