newpolliiiiii
 

new poll

Never mind testing...new poll soon.

Ahaaa there it is.

I voted psychological tips and tricks are "better than mystical smoke & mirrors", which I'm assuming means religions.

At the very core of my recovery has been my understanding how alcohol over time changed the way my brain functioned, specifically the brain stem and limbic system.

My psychological trick in the first three or so months of recovery, while experiencing urges, was to replace the urge with the image of a drooling Komodo Dragon. Komodo Dragons can be over 9 feet long and weigh 150 pounds. They have a poisonous bite, which along with the virulent bacteria in their saliva kills their prey slowly by blood poisoning. The prey gets weaker and weaker, even after a single bite, and it can over a week to die. As the prey slowly weakens to the point where it can no longer defend itself, the number of Dragons following it increase as well. Finally, they overcome the prey and eat it alive.

This worked well for me; the limbic system (where I believe alcohol addiction resides physiologically) is also called our "lizard brain" because it's believed to be a stepping stone to our current brain size and structure from our evolutionary past. I chose to use the many layers of grey matter above my "lizard brain" to override the basal, instinctual urges emanating from my limbic system.

Just as surely as one Komodo Dragon bite will result in a lingering, painful, grotesque, ugly death...so will one drink of alcohol, because one drink will equal many, many more.

If I'm wrong about any of this I don't care, because it's been 369 days for me on my first try at being sober, and I'm haunted by Komodo Dragons no more :)

Wow... you didn't give us a wide range of options there, did you Zencat?? :)

I like polls and I cannot lie :)

Not real sure what you meant by mystical smoke & mirrors? Guess I should of waited to vote till I really got what you were saying?

I'm making a tutorial on 'how to make a poll'. This is a test poll. Just goofing around with the poll questions.

Mystical S&M is more along the lines of this guy:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yGO5imPfuo...600/walter.jpg

Say WHAT!!!

I was almost late for work this morning writing up that sincere, heartfelt, informative post earlier today. Man, talk about feeling futile...sort of the online equivalent to what premature ejaculation must feel like :(

:c008:

http://bestsmileys.com/sad/8.gif My apologies Murray, I meant to post the poll in Cafe Central and though I had.

I found your post useful.

I too see addiction as a brain disorder, some say brain disease. Addiction hijacks the limbic region, making drug seeking thoughts and behaviors on the same plane as seeking food/water for basic survival.

I've read stories about brain injury and behavioral change. Those "many layers of grey matter above my "lizard brain" may get damaged by prolonged drug use. making it real hard to counter the compulsion to use. That's why people that participate in a recovery recovery stand a better chance at recovery. Seeking social approval is a strong instinct too. Helping to compensate a brain that may be damaged from addiction.

That's what I tend to think also, Zencat... a brain dysfunction or disorder. At least, that's one aspect of it...

I think sometimes people want to easily explain something like addiction as either all spiritual, all cognitive/behavioral, all physical disorder, etc... It's just way more complicated and encompasses all these areas I think. It's just not ALL anything.

I think it is basically the same process, but one gives you the power and the other gives it to some imaginary guy who tells you what to do.

I think it's better because it cuts out the middle imaginary man.

I agree. Those who merely abstain, even for long periods of time, never find new pathways in their brains to make up for the one's that they lost.

Call it Spiritual Awakening, enlightenment, new insight or satori. Recovery means refurbishing the brain. Not just putting lipstick on a pig.

i'm pretty religious but it's got nothing to do with me being a (former) p*sshead! i was just as religious drunk or with a steaming hangover, in fact i probably prayed more back then, eg that no one would notice my breath, or 'please don't let my head asplode all over my desk this morning'... :a122:

so i voted "better than mystical smoke & mirrors" because anything i can get myself into, i can get myself out of using smarter psychological methods and so on.

debs

DoubtfulDebs. As one that at was religious, there was the choice to do well or badly because I was learned of gods will for mam/women. A God given choice... acknowledged thru surrendering to Gods laws. I obey or not after knowing the law,

I see addictions a willful violation of gods will for me. Now it becomes for me to finding strength in Gods word and correct my condition, this I would do to demonstrate my love for God.

God will not do this for me,,,why because I choose to love God and through this love I will demonstrate my love to do his will through me.

I'm a bit rust with my past faith,,but dost that sound close?

We'll see... We'll see.

You are about to find out the limits of epistemology. Not that I am trying to cut short your struggle. You need to struggle 100% before you can surrender 100%

Go ahead, knock yourself out pal... LOL!

Of all the ways I have seen fail to keep people sober, psychology is by far the least reliable.

P.S. I have a B.S. degree in Psychology. When it comes to alcohol-ISM, it really is B.S.

I somewhat agree with you regarding professional psychologists. With regard to addiction, most of them have either never been addicted, and can't imagine what it is like, or they are presently addicted, in which case they cannot see clearly. If you read "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" by Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes, for example, you can see that it provides a piercing insight into how addiction works, but Jaynes was likely alcoholic, and simply could not see the connection.

Since you have a background in psychology, Boleo, have you read it? I'd be curious as to your thoughts on it.