kanamit

Hi all,

I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who post here—but especially AVRT—for putting me onto the RR/AVRT technique.

I bought the Allen Carr book over a year ago and I absolutely loved it and it made me decide I wanted to become a non-drinker. However, as much as I 100% agree with Allen Carr that alcohol has no benefits something would always pull me back. As Allen says, it's not so much that we enjoy alchohol, it's more that we feel miserable without it. He also says that we drink to end an irritation—akin to wearing tight shoes for a week to enjoy the pleasure of taking them off. How true that is!

Despite the fact I love EasyWay I would always end up drinking again due to what Allen calls 'the little monster'. Every time I applied EasyWay and the little monster got the better of me it would always pull me back in. Each time EasyWay's efficacy would diminish a little.

Thanks to some serious lurking here—and thanks mostly to the member AVRT—I found out about the Rational Recovery/AVRT method. I was intrigued as it mentioned the Beast and I thought surely that was something that must relate to Carr's little monster.

I took the online course and it made a bit of sense but not much. I read up more and bought the RR book. I liked it but still I thought, how do I apply this? I also thought that the Big Plan was just a way of exercising willpower after making a solemn vow. I made my own Big Plan but the words meant nothing.

After more lurking the penny finally dropped. I read another of AVRT's posts and it said something along the lines of (sorry you're more articulate than I am) you don't enter into debates with your Beast so there is no white knuckling. It clicked into place then and I saw exactly how AVRT would work and how a big Plan passes the onus to drink onto the Beast.

What's more is I now feel that by using AVRT and Allen Carr together I can now confidently say, I will never drink again — and I will never change my mind.

To me now, I can see there are no benefits to alcohol. The benefits are only seen by my Beast. Now allaying the long-term urges that EasyWay failed to quell will be truly effortless.

(As an aside, it's so interesting to hear other people's beasts talking)

I'm done. No counting of days, no willpower. I will spend the rest of my life as a self-recovered happy, non-drinker.

Allen Carr, Jack Trimpey and AVRT…I thank you all. I got there in the end!

As a final aide, has anyone read the Jason Vale book? It's almost a carbon copy of Allen Carr's but I like his writing style more. I'm also puzzled why he never got sued for plagiarism.

As a final note, I have read Allen Carr very extensively (15+ times!) so if anyone has any questions I am more than happy to answer.

Terminally Unique

You're quite welcome, kanamit.

Take credit for your own success, though - you did the work.

Terminally Unique

BTW, if anyone else is interested, I do have links to additional material on AVRT, some of which is not easily found unless you know where to look. Feel free to send me a Private Message if interested.

ElvisInASkirt

Great post kanamit.

Allen Carr pushed me over the edge into abstinence and RR provides the perfect way to keep the wolf from the door.

I love feeling secure in my abstinence so when at times I feel unhappy about being insecure in my abstinence I have the eureka moment and cry BEAST.

Then I shadow punch invisible holes in it's head and do a jig around the room.

I still read random chapters from RR at night or on the train. The one thing I didn't like about Carr's book is that you kinda need to read it from start to finish as he tends to stray from the topic somewhat. I like the individual themed chapters in RR.

BobGT

I just ordered it and will report back after I read it. Thanks.

kanamit

It's great isn't it? When I was using EasyWay on its own the 'the little monster' starting kicking up a fuss I did sometimes have to resort to willpower. Not now though, thanks to AVRT. It's so easy! Now I almost look forward to some activity so I can put it in its place.

I didn't read much of the first section in RR but I think you should read part II from start to finish in order. Jack doesn't really maintain that there are no benefits to drinking so I skipped the I know why you drink bit as I felt Allen Carr covered that much better.

I have only read the transcript in Part III that AVRT mentioned in another thread.

kanamit

If you have read Carr's book you might feel a little cheated as on the surface it's almost the same book. However, there are some gems in there and Jason goes into more detail about his own history (which is very colourful) and the biological effects of alcohol on the body.

There is one great analogy which I'll share:

Like RR and EasyWay he says quit and then never reverse the decision. He says when you do that your friends will ask you, 'Are you still not drinking?' and he says that's like ringing someone up the week after they've passed their driving test and asking, 'Can you still drive?' I thought that was good.

Jason Vale is actually best known for extolling the benefits of drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices. By doing this he cured himself of asthma, eczema and psoriasis. This particularly appealed to me as I'm really into nutrition and am now using AVRT to follow Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live programme (in fact, this is originally why I wanted to quit drinking). If you look him up on YouTube you'll see how fit and healthy he looks now. He's one of the most enthusiastic people I've ever seen on television; it's contagious.

According to Wikipedia Jason Vale was once a therapist for Allen Carr, which would explain the similarities. What I can't fathom is, how did he not get sued for plagiarism?

Terminally Unique

In my experience, once the alcohol had altered my brain, and "The Beast" was born, even a change in attitude towards alcohol, as per Allen Carr, was not sufficient. The little monster just wouldn't go away, or if it did, it came back after a while. There is some introductory material in Part I, but you should at least try to read Part II of the RR book straight through.

ElvisInASkirt

Be safe to say that the beast was born at that 'a-ha' moment where you think to yourself 'THIS WORKS!'.

I think I've read most of Part II, albeit in reverse order! This could well be beast stall tactics. Or the fact I have the attention span of a broken bowel.

Or should that be retention span?

Bleh.

kanamit

I was thinking that just today.

If you go on the Amazon reviews for Allen Carr there are definitely some people who read the book and walked away from alcohol, never to look back (I can't say that with certainty, only that some on there have reviewed the book and posted updated months/years later to say they still have no desire to drink).

I've heard people say EasyWay is for moderate-to-heavy drinkers only and others say the worse your addiction the more you can benefit. For me, when I look at the volumes consumed by others here in comparison with my own my Beast would quickly jump in and say, there's no way you have a problem (society would probably class me as moderate-to-heavy). Now knowing AVRT I can see that although EasyWay worked my Beast cunningly left the thought in my mind: it's fine that you've quit for now but remember you have that stag do coming up. Do you really want to be the only one not drinking? And that's where it got me. Now with AVRT a thought like that cannot possibly be mine and I recognise that now. I'm sure it will come up with something more cunning and subtle at some point in the future but I'll be ready for it.

I guess it works 100% for some and not others. For me EasyWay is the piece of the puzzle that tells me to pity drinkers and not envy them. (I love the chapter called Those Lucky Normal Drinkers—all those things people say to give the impression of control but actually prove the opposite.)

BobGT

I just finished Jason Vale's book, and it was almost exactly like Carr's book. For someone who has not read either, I would recommend Vale's book first. But that is just my preference, and others may disagree.

I would definitely recommend reading one of the two books to anyone trying to quit drinking.

kanamit

There are very, very similar. I guess that means you cannot copyright the method itself.

I agree that Jason Vale's one is probably written in a style that most would find easier and therefore would be the first choice. I'll always credit Allen Carr with changing the way I view alcohol though.

lostbutterfly

i am read allen carr. I liked it, but its logic did nothing for my addictive voice. Just on part ii of tnc. It makes so much sense. Both those books make me feel capable and strong, instead of fragile and diseased.

Thrifty

Kanamit, thanks so much for starting this thread. I feel like I could be just like you. I posted elsewhere about this and was redirected. I hope I get a response, even though I'm a bit late in this thread.

I browsed through the RR book many years ago and I wasn't ready for it at all and got nothing out of it. I'm pretty sure I was hoping for years to be able to moderate and anything that suggested otherwise was totally ignored by me. About 5 years ago I read Easyway and, although I got a lot out of it, it didn't click for me. I picked it up again a few months ago and have read it another 10 to 15 times. I got more out of it, but i kept getting the urge to drink. I was really frustrated since there seem to be so many reviews on Amazon that claim the desire was completely gone after reading the book once.

A few days ago I stumbled upon SR and AVRT. The first thing I thought was... I wonder if this is the missing piece of the Easyway method? I believe for me it is. Easyway showed me that there is no benefit from drinking whatsoever. It also opened my eyes to all of the brainwashing we've been subjected to. It also was the first thing that made me think that I just might be able to say no to alcohol forever and quit this moderation game. However, I was still ovewhelmed by urges in spite of my newfound knowledge. I didn't realize these urges are my beast and can be overcome.

I'm still reading RR, but I am incredibly hopeful that this is what I need to put Easyway into action.

I'm so glad that others have had similar experiences with both books. I too thank you,TU, for being such a good guide when it comes to AVRT. I may
have just breezed through the AVRT sections if it wasn't for your guidance and posts.

I am still to new to post my progress, but will post soon. Thanks to everyone fro great input.

kanamit

I got frustrated as to why I agreed there were no advantages to alcohol yet would still drink. AVRT explains this perfectly. It's so simple it can work for anyone.

I read the book twice and all the threads here. Eventually it clicked and the rest was easy!