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Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT) Discussion — Part 5



Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT) Discussion — Part 5

Old 01-21-2015, 09:23 AM
  # 361 (permalink)  
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Yes, dwtbd! Putting the responsibility for not drinking squarely back on me simplifies things so much!

Have to say, my AV was going nuts while I was reading. "If you can REALLY quit any time you want, then you can also DRINK any time you want, then just quit again." He's a feisty little quadriplegic! He's got spunk!

Anyway, learning to recognize those thoughts for what they are seems key. I'd figured out vaguely from reading here on SR what AV meant, but a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. When coupled with the idea that I was powerless over my addiction it became a particularly easy way to justify falling back into old habits. "The devil made me do it."

Without any real familiarity with any one recovery method, I was just putting bits and pieces that I liked together like a quilt. In hindsight that seems like a very dangerous path to tread on.
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Old 01-21-2015, 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by SDH73 View Post
"If you can REALLY quit any time you want, then you can also DRINK any time you want, then just quit again."
This one always used to get me, too. Luckily, AVRT identifies ANYTHING that points to me drinking again as the AV, which is to be ignored.
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Old 01-21-2015, 10:11 AM
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Haven't finished the book yet, but it's already given me so much gusto! That whole section about debunking "treatment" was horrifying! Removing some commonly held beliefs about addiction is really helping me to sift through all the crud in my mind and pick out the AV.
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Old 01-21-2015, 12:15 PM
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Good for you SD! I have not read the whole book. Freshy's splaining was enough for me. Something clicked and continues to click.
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Old 01-21-2015, 12:54 PM
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Yeah, annattaboy. It was a "click". I was actually smiling as I was reading because it all made so much sense.

I'm on day 6 (not that I'm counting anymore) so we'll see how it goes. But this fills me with so much more hope than "admitting that I am powerless". I have ALL the power! If I should drink again it's on me, not some mysterious disease that I don't understand and have to vaguely "treat" for the rest of my life.

But that won't happen, because I don't drink!
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Old 01-21-2015, 02:26 PM
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SDH...that is exactly how I felt when I first discovered AVRT! It just clicked! I give credit to freshstart, as well, for his spot on explanation! (Thanks again fresh )

I'm coming up on seven weeks and I still have a hard time believing it could really be this simple. I wish I would have known about this sooner, I had never heard of AVRT before coming here!

And you're exactly right...it is incredibly empowering! I love knowing that I do indeed have a choice! I am not powerless and never will be! Yay!
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Old 01-22-2015, 01:31 AM
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I'm glad there's a whole book for those who need it or are simply motivated to "peek under the hood" at the engine that drives AVRT. However, just the Bullet for my Beast/Crash course has been all I need, 2.25 years sober and counting.
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Old 01-22-2015, 02:41 AM
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I will say that since this technique is basically the antithesis to the fore-running 12 step approach my guess is it makes the most sense to those of us who have been there first, really tried and still felt confused. I still have a foot in the program and have yet to use the term "AV" but in the last coupla weeks have spoke of what I've been doing and have plugged RR and AVRT as it is part of my experience this time around. Bottom line, everyone who has quit has used some form of self-talk to address the urge and those that quit first try were doing AVRT before it had a name. PUNCTUATION -Jack gave us a period big enough to stop the run-on sentence.
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Old 01-22-2015, 10:21 AM
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I like the personal responsibility of it too. I got myself into this mess. My decisions. No one made me drink. I don't buy that it's a disease. I drank because I liked the way it made me feel and then got dependent and addicted. It's a drug like any other. At least in my opinion. I also don't buy that God can get me sober. Only I can do that and it's by not drinking. Period. Full Stop. No matter what.
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Old 01-22-2015, 11:04 AM
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Excellent! ^^^

If I were to jack up my Truck and not chock the Wheels properly - only to then have it fall and cripple me for Life while working under it - that's a major serving of Personal Responsibility to deal with thereafter. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. That would be Mister DumbAzz to you...

It just occurred to me, reading this fine Post [and Thread] above, that perhaps our past Addictive Behavior all coming down to me/us being responsible is simply too much for some to assimilate. That I, alone, did 'x,y,z' while over-indulging is a tough Pill for some to swallow. In the Bell Curve of Humanity, it stands to reason that some simply can't accept this level of Personal Responsibility. Not a good thing. Not a bad thing. Just a 'Statistical Observation', if you will, on the Bell Curve of Folks handling things in accordance with their Self Image, and 'constitution'.

It wasn't the most fun thing I've ever undertaken, but me sobering up me - with support - absolutely fit my World View. This is why it's a relatively-'easy' decision to accept and live with going forward. For me, taking full-on responsibility slams all this 'Daily Struggle' stuff in the Dumpster.

I was ultimately responsible for getting myself into it. I was ultimately responsible for getting myself out of it.

-----
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Old 01-22-2015, 11:35 AM
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I basically used the AVRT concept a year ago when I quit smoking....had never heard of AVRT back then, but thats what it was....i made up my mind to never smoke again and I haven't...first try. I think that's kind of what anattaboy was referring to in that last post.

I think people generally think it's will power, and it is to a certain extent, but it's so much more than that. Will power has a negative connotation in a lot ways....like you're depriving yourself of something. I don't feel DEPRIVED of alcohol or nicotine...I feel FREE of them. I feel empowered with the knowledge that I have a CHOICE. It's only when we start taking responsibility for ourselves and our actions that we can know true freedom.
I never could quite grasp the disease concept either, zenchaser. It always sounded like a scapegoat to me....oh my AV loves the idea....exactly why I can't accept it!!

MM...I've wondered about that too...personal responsibility. Hmmm.....your truck scenario sounds like a nice juicy lawsuit in the making, ha! . Our courts are clogged with people who refuse to take personal responsibility...I think you're spot on, sir!
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Old 01-22-2015, 11:50 AM
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I have mentioned before about the negative consequences of accepting the disease concept. In the book JT layed out the resons why 'recoveryism' is an AV wet dream and I think he was/is spot on.
I don't think I was not feeling responsible for my addiction, but on some level by cultural osmosis I had accepted it as the root cause and the AV used it to its full advantage to keep perpetuating the cycle.
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Old 01-22-2015, 12:38 PM
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Brynn that's how I quit tobacco too. I used NOPE, Not One Puff Ever. I didn't whine and whinge every time someone lit up in front of me. It was a personal decision that I made to not be a slave to tobacco anymore and I decided to be happy about it! Yay I don't have to do that anymore. I feel the same way about quitting drinking. Yay I don't have to do that anymore! It's a good thing. I have to change the narrative in my mind to think about all the things I'm gaining instead of what I'm giving up. I get to be free now
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Old 01-22-2015, 01:46 PM
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Hey, Jazzfish, how did you stop smoking?

I stopped sticking cigarettes in my mouth and lighting them.
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Old 01-22-2015, 01:56 PM
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Originally Posted by zenchaser View Post
I feel the same way about quitting drinking:
  • Yay I don't have to do that anymore!
  • It's a good thing.
  • I have to change the narrative in my mind to think about all the things I'm gaining instead of what I'm giving up.
  • I get to be free now
I like this so much, zenchaser, I decided to punch it up and post it again. This, to me, is the recipe for a permanent and unconditional sobriety.

Well put!
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Old 01-23-2015, 12:22 PM
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I just want to add that the AVRT/RR concepts have spilled over into every area of my life. Have y'all found that to be true as well?
I find myself doing things deliberately and from a place of confidence and authority. I no longer see myself as just being carried along by other peoples plans and decisions. I feel like I've literally come back to life!
This is probably old news to those of you who've been around a while, but it's pretty neat stuff all the same.
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Old 01-23-2015, 12:38 PM
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I totally know what you mean brynn! I'm finding that making good healthy decisions is kinetic and it's spilling into my life as well I've rediscovered my love for exercise and I enjoy it so much better now that I'm 100% hangover free. I look forward to it and it helps me release all my tension. My finances are better. My relationships are better. My self image is better.
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Old 01-23-2015, 12:39 PM
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That was a lot of betters lol
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Old 01-23-2015, 01:24 PM
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Zen...ha! That was a lot of betters and it's awesome!!

When I stopped seeing myself as an alcoholic is when the floodgates opened and the possibilities for deliberate and confident living really began to set in.

I used to be an alcoholic, addicted to booze, whatever you want to call it...but since I don't drink anymore, I'm none of those things. Having the weight of that label lifted was amazing! I no longer am defined by that label...and by that I mean I no longer define MYSELF by that label!
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Old 01-23-2015, 01:37 PM
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Originally Posted by brynn View Post
I just want to add that the AVRT/RR concepts have spilled over into every area of my life. Have y'all found that to be true as well?
I find myself doing things deliberately and from a place of confidence and authority. I no longer see myself as just being carried along by other peoples plans and decisions. I feel like I've literally come back to life!
This is probably old news to those of you who've been around a while, but it's pretty neat stuff all the same.
If we can conquer this, through sheer self reinvention and redefinition, what else can we achieve? What are the limits? It really is thrilling to understand now that the height has been scaled, all that we see in front of us is within our grasp.

Overcoming the fear of change and seeing the way forward is simply fantastic. It takes true courage. Badassery at its finest.

Onward!
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