1 year sober RATTER (rational recovery) - what worked
 

first off i call myself a "ratter" - this sounds stupid but i conceptualised my addiction as a rat that wanted fresh drink, and every day i denied it, it died a little. this might not be for everyone!!

i found positive things to replace my addictive habits - posh mineral water at night to keep pouring, or chinese teas, i didn't just assume i'd go from that thing of the glug of having the drink on the go, to nothing. know what you physically do with your addiction, and make plans to replace it healthily.

just... 100% invest, be it rr, whatever, and have faith in yourself.

my first week, month, were milestones, so make it to a year and you'll feel why i'm a bit lost for what to say, because with rr it's not about days.. i can't forget my date (wish i had picked a date like tra-la-la 13th or something! lol) my beast keeps pinging me on the 1st of each month, but so what - fearing beast activity IS beast activity.

anyway i think i'm all done here, best to all and thanks to the posters who helped me sort the lies from the solid sober truths!!:ghug3

congratulations on the first year of your journey Deb - best wishes for all the years to come :)

D

Well done,I am over a year now.

thanks!
so many lessons learned, but at the heart of all of them was "ahem, i will never drink again" because the beast had & has a thousand ways to be the answer to every problem...

:lmao

The vanguard of a new phenomena - Self-recovered people who drop by for a quick visit
 

Hi Deb,

I think SR is a high quality representative of the new internet forum way of confronting and beating addiction with the option of going no farther than your computer to succeed.

And now, in just this last year, many threads and posts here on SR focus on AVRT as a state of the art program to assist self-recovery.

You are in the vanguard of a new phenomena - people who self-recovered and see some degree of interest in helping others self-recover, too - whether it's by just dropping by, or by sticking around for a while to help share a little of more of your experience and help AVRT get taught right.

Good to hear from you (like ships passing, not at night, but on a sunny day).

GT

Deb,
Congrats on your year. Keep up the good fight/disengagement. Please stick around and help some of us newbies isolate and recognize the beast.

Deb, I think you are a terrific example! I'm just at the beginning of my journey, starting to learn about AVRT and dealing with the beast. I think I'm beginning to recognize the Beast's voice some of the time and am working on separating from the beast. Also busily reading Jack Trimpey's book.

It makes so much sense to me. Not viewing alcohol as a disease, the negative impact of the standard "one day at a time", the ability to have power over the beast and hence drinking. I'm feeling much more positive than I have in awhile.

Keep up the great work!

it's right there - saying you need "help" and support - i mean this in the nicest way because in know that might look a bit harsh!! :ghug3

any thought at all that supports the future possible use of alcohol, however speculatively, IS your beast.

any thought at all that says "you alone can't do this, you NEED help, you NEED to keep reading posts here (OR you might have a little drinkipoos")" and so on, is the beast.
sure, read the forums, join in, whatever, when it's helping you with learning the recovery method you choose, but if a little voice in your head hints that without the forums, you'll drink - that's your beast.

now i'm worried i'm sounding like a big horrible person after youwere so kind to reply and everything, thats not it at all!!

but just read the hell out of that book, read the posts on here especially by terminally unique who has a good grasp on the technique, and in fact you can teach yourself best by spotting other people's beasts at work (just don't tell them unless they actually ask) - you'll see plenty, spot them in the media when people talk about addiction... you won't be short of nice little opportunities!

your beast is any thought at all that goes "x, y, and z, and/or/but then i might drink."

simples! ;)

and thanks saskia too, it is possible, there are lots more going far longer than me, in the end the only person who makes that decision is you, i know i didn't have a disease and if you know that about yourself, we're just here to get straight, nobody elses way of coping matters to us, unless it starts sounding beast-ly, in which case we can just sort of go "oh, you again!" - quietly in our own heads - and keep right on recognising it and ignoring its demands.

it's A V Recognition T, not A V argue/blame/start-to-be-strangely-convinced-by T!! :c014:

i probably won't be around much at all, because talking about an addiction i no longer have (so long as i don't drink, and, i will never drink again) is kind of... feels odd! i want to watch my motives, y'know, why would i want to keep reminding myself? things like that - i'm still working it all out for myself right now!

:tyou