Philemon

I understand the confusion though. Since RR ushered in AVRT and the idea of the AV a lot of people jumped upon the bandwagon of that term and it has become distorted somewhat when used out of context with what RR intended. The term Addictive Voice (AV) started out as a recognition of the excuses you use to feed your addiction and get a high.
But when used without full knowledge of AVRT it has become easy for the AV to become distorted into "the devil made me do it".."My AV is too strong for me"...The term AV was coined by J.Trimpey who founded Rational Recovery and the AVRT method, and it represented nothing more than your own excuses that you use to justify your seeking a buzz from drinking.

Philemon

sorry double post

LumenandNyx

Hi,

Thanks for being so open about that.

Aellyce

I wasn't clear in my previous post, sorry. The criticism was not targeted to AVRT itself, but how it is often interpreted. I also misinterpreted it at the beginning, before I read the book a few years ago and saw how people use it successfully (there have many many good discussions here on SR). That's what I was alluding to - it's often misinterpreted and misused by people, based on a superficial understanding and the "crash course" that does not explain it well. I think over-criticizing and/or plain refusing any recovery technique without getting well-informed about it or trying can be AV by itself...although that may just be my twist on it. Of course the same perception won't refuse using the drug, knowing full-well how destructive that choice is. That's exactly one way I think it's similar to the so-called sociopath's perception and behavior. Lack of awareness and refusal of the problem or any possible solution, while just expanding the destructiveness by acting on the same impulses over and over.

The only suggestion I would have (again) is not to get overly confident and believe that a few weeks of sobriety is truly out of the woods and real balance/stability have been achieved. Part of the reason I mentioned there are many layers and stages of this process and challenges will inevitably arise, some that we may not foresee easily.

Philemon

Aellyce, if you have read TNC you will know that once you have given up drinking, you can return to your authentic self. I can assure you the remark I made about the AV being an illogical sociopath was a joke.
I have no mental problems, I feel stable and well. I do not believe recovery is a process as you will know if you have read TNC.
If stability and balance have not been achieved, well I'm happy enough with the way things are with me. I feel happy in myself.
I do not expect my life to be trouble free, but it will be alcohol free.
I don't know anyone's life, drinker or no who doesn't have challenges.
Life IS unforeseen challenges.

Aellyce

I am familiar with that method (and many others) but have never been a faithful follower of any one of them, and I personally don't like very much when anyone tells me recovery is this or that as some absolute truth. It just sounds like we have different views and interpretations, which is perfectly fine. All the best then and sorry about misinterpreting your post.

Philemon

No worries
Great thing about AVRT I USE the technique if I have an urge to drink.
And the rest of the time,I live my life.