QFT. This would make a good signature line. :)

The way I see it, there is only one real issue, or premise, that is the key determining factor, at which point things necessarily diverge. The first step of AA requires acceptance of powerlessness over alcohol, which really means powerlessness over the desire for alcohol, ie "The Beast" of AVRT. The rest of the steps don't make much sense without Step 1, and AVRT makes no sense if one is powerless over the Beast.

TU,

I truly appreciate and admire your relentless holding of the AVRT torch. I think you are doing a great public service, helping to provide a substantial boost to the accessibility of a profoundly effective, yet hushed, alternative to the "recovery establishment".

I am just glad you were there staunchly encouraging the availability of AVRT, as presented in the Rational Recovery book, when I crawled into the SR world. It facilitated my transformation.

My intention is not to step on anyone's toes, or start trouble, when I say "Rational Recovery...AVRT WORKS!"

I am not powerless. I have always believed that. I used to think I might be powerless, but that was when I was drinking. When I decided to quit, and then did, I definitely knew I was not powerless!

I thought that in AVRT one does not engage "the beast" ... because that is a losing battle... i.e. powerless... no?

That's one way to look at it, but I meant more in the "not beyond human aid" sense, though. You are correct that engaging in unnecessary dialogue with the Beast is a losing proposition, however, and a perfect recipe for "white knuckle" madness. Since it is a relentless survival drive, it would be akin to debating with thirst, which is futile. If you do, it will probably wear you down in time.

Gotcha, thanx.

Below are 4 articles that explain what is going on with the brain and addiction. It does seem that the brain is just doing what it was designed to do for survival purposes which is to gravitate toward pleasure and away from pain.

Once addiction sets in neural changes occur and the brain actually adapts to the addiction. It is because of these changes that it is so incredibly hard to stop. The point to all of this is that hard as it may seem you do have the ability to say no to the cravings. Given enough time the intense cravings would stop on their own if you did nothing. What treatment programs accomplish in my opinion is to keep you away from the addictive substance long enough for the brain to heal.

Here are the 4 articles : Is Addiction the Result of Brain Evolution? | Psychology Today

Corrupted Choice

The Pivot Point | Psychology Today

The Brain is Vulnerable to Hacking by Drugs | Psychology Today