what does av mean
 

I have seen many post where av is used. what is that?

Addict Voice. It's that little voice that tries to talk you into using/drinking.

Addictive voice. Here is a sticky with meanings of a lot of the acronyms used here:)

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-acronyms.html

Hugs and prayers,

Amy

Yes the Addict/Addictive voice. It's said to be like a drive within that is the cause of the cravings and difficulties that come with stopping drinking. A voice in the mind (it's called a 'voice') that supports use of alcohol or the DOC (=drug of choice).

Here's a link:
https://rational.org/index.php?id=1

thanks for the info

AV to me is a fake survival voice that developed as part of our addiction.

Like food, water, sleep, it wakes when deprived of our substance of choice trying to tell us we need it to survive. Recognizing it allows us to shut it down, because our logic knows we are not in danger.

AVRT is the technique to learn to recognize it.

I didn't know what it meant until I joined this forum. It is a very helpful tool which I will carry with me. I have been sober a long time, but with the week I've had, without learning about AV, who knows? xxxxxxxxxx

The AV that is easy to recognize is the one that says 'You deserve a drink after that day you just had. How about a couple of beers with the buddies?'. Or it says, 'You better accept that glass of wine, you don't want to look all weird, do you?'. Or 'You almost drank sensibly last weekend, this time you can do it for sure'. Or 'What's a cookout without margaritas?'.

The trickier AV is the one that makes you doubt yourself and your self worth, the one that plays on your fears and insecurities. That is the nasty one. It says, 'Just look at yourself. You'll never quit drinking! Who do you think you are kidding?'. It says 'Even if you could quit drinking, you certainly can't do it today'. 'You'll never be really done drinking, you are going to have to battle this forever', and the big one, 'You don't deserve to be sober, you're a bum'.

All of these thoughts, if you choose to believe they belong to that misguided drive for pleasure, can be dismissed. If you have chosen to not drink again, then these thoughts don't belong to you anymore, and you can let them flip and flop and whine and complain. They are just thoughts and will come and then they will go, and can't make you do anything you don't choose to do. These thoughts are powerless because you say so, and that is enough.

That's my take on AV.