Sohard

Okay, I know this is a bad idea, but I'm still curious about moderation (which is know is not allowed to be discussed on this website, but I'm not asking about how to moderate). What I'm asking is, did any of you here have the urge to try moderation after learning about AVRT? If you did, what happened? There is a little part of me that says, maybe I could! As I've said before, I'm not a master at the AVRT technique, but I'm thrilled to be at 4 months free of alcoholic substances. However, now that I have been free from it for so long (it's all relative) and know about this technique, wouldn't it work for moderation too, so I could still take in the fun sometimes? Couldn't I, for instance, drink on a Friday night, but then Saturday say my urge was just the beast and ignore it? Or, is that not possible for someone who is "allergic" to alcohol, which I guess is what some people say about people who become addicted to the substance. I don't know. Just thinking aloud. I'll take any thoughts. I'm trying!

Sohard

I do have a tendency to think I'm a special snowflake and could be the one person who masters this. Which is ridiculous. I guess.

PeacefulWater12

I thought that too. From what I hear shared in my program, so do most of us!

What helped me was educating myself as to exactly how alcohol affects my brain and therefore why once i had one drink, it was impossible to stop.

PeacefulWater12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptyrwcBICaE

I thought this was good. Common sense explanation.

dwtbd

First of all, I don't think it is not allowed to discuss moderation as a topic, I just don't think promoting drinking , even 'less' drinking, is an allowed method for discussion, so to speak.
This sub-forum in particular is about permanent abstinence, so pretty much the thrust of all the ' stuff in here' is going to be geared toward zero more drinks

AVRT is all about zero more drinks, the AV is all about more drinks.

Anyone Can drink as much or as little as they may like to try to, zero more is actually the easiest goal to hit.

GerandTwine

I absolutely recognize that urge in myself right now. It took a short pause to do some serious “shifting”, but, yes, I can feel it, at this very moment, for alcohol, pot, chocolate, caffeine, and man-made-sweets. But I don’t think of it as “I’m still curious about moderation”. I think of it as “IT is still curious about moderation.” Yup, there it is, for all that stuff. This reminds me that my appetite center is still operating well.

Nothing. It just went away. I mean like right now. It just went away. Ok, wait, I’m shifting back again. The bottle of wine in the fridge, MMMmm, I can almost taste it. Yup there it is again. Go moderate! Whoops, now it gone.

In your case, every sentence of what you posted is the expression of more thoughts and feelings of drinking without using AVRT. If you want to actually DO the Technique of AVR, you will know every single sentence is not YOU, but your Addictive Voice, your Beast barking at you for not turning back on IT’s oxygen valve.

You could try writing out the sentences below with a big space between each of them. Then write out in the spaces why each one is your AV and not YOU.

Sohard

Okay, thanks all. I'm not going to drink. I was just thinking. Or, IT was. Sigh.

GerandTwine

That’s a big “Or”.

“Sigh.”? Your Beast is a “last word freak” - gotta get in its final bark - totally harmless against a Big Plan.

dwtbd

In AVRT you are thinking the same things It is about drinking, the part in your favor is that you haven't acted on those thoughts, so good on You.

You are the only one that Can actually act on those thoughts. ITs game is to get You to believe those thoughts are entirely your own . By separating your thoughts from ITs , you will be able to see when the fix is in, yeah?

If you have made a Big Plan , "I will never drink again And I will never change my mind" any thoughts, feelings, or images of future drinking ( and any doubt in your ability to remain abstinent) are by definition not coming from YOU, You have decided to never drink again so why would You be thinking about going against Your own decision ?

GerandTwine

It uses the Structural Model of Addiction, but concludes that choice has been eliminated and goes deeper down the rabbit hole of endless recovery.

Quite a different result from immediate, independently achieved, permanent abstinence.

Sohard

Okay. Thanks for the thoughts. I need to start actually practicing AVRT (as opposed to just really liking it and having it appeal to me). That's like saying I believe in healthy eating and exercise, but then living on mozzarella sticks and vegging on the couch but expecting myself to miraculously lose weight and tone up. I guess it won't be as easy (obviously) as just believing AVRT makes sense. It's an action. I don't think I really got that at first.

This is my first real and last quit... it's amazing how much information there is I never heard of or that regular society does not discuss. I won't be a statistic.

dwtbd

“This is my first real and last Quit” I doubt it will be much longer until you realize that that statement is proof , as in proof to you(the only kind that matters) , that you are more than 99.76318% “There”(here)

MindfulMan

I did rehab twice. First and last time.

dwtbd

The OP has been abstinent for months , I assume beyond the time of the need for detox.
Are you suggesting that in order to quit they need to attend a rehab ? Or two?
Your statement sounds like you don’t believe the claim that this is Sohard’s first real and last quit, not that it could be possible for Sohard , or anyone for that matter, to prove to another the internal veracity of such a statement. Is that what you mean to express?

MindfulMan

No, I was actually agreeing with him and putting forth my own experience.

I'm really not sure how you got what you said out of my statement.

dwtbd

Apparently I put it in .
But in my defense given the context and spareness there was a lot of room, my bad.

MindfulMan

No worries!

I should have given a bit more in my post. MY bad.

GerandTwine

Eating certain foods and exercising to stay healthy is certainly full of “action”, but when you hear that along with “Doing AVRT won’t be as easy as ...” and “It (AVRT) is an action.” you are delighting your AV all over again.

How much time and energy is expended in doing AVRT once you’ve learned it and have a Big Plan in place? For all practical purpose, zero.