aasharon90

I think I over described my beast....lol He
or she is definitely a baby tiger that has been
growing inside me over the past 22 yrs. I
honestly cant tell you how it will emerge if
I did take a drink after being sober for so
long.

When hearing from so many who were sober
for awhile and decided to go back out and some
that didnt make it back in or luckily they did
to share that drinking was brutal, and its still
kicking butts big time, i have made a conscience
decision to stay sober with a program of recovery
to guide me along in my journey then to face the
consequences.

Still in all, my beast of alcoholism whatever it is,
remains asleep.

RobbyRobot

Yeah Sharon,

My own alcoholic mind is in a coma, so I can relate... and I'm very happy you too can state your alcoholism is otherwise arrested and asleep. Awesome!

Fastenbulbus

Come Friday, don't take the first drink. "I will never take the first drink again and I will never change my mind".

Lionhearted1

With any recovery techniques you must won't to stop 100% because if you don't then the av will slip in another route it leaves the door open. When I say I will NEVER drink again and never change my mind I mean it. My av doesn't but that's ok because I have the power not it.

RobbyRobot

I have found normally the AV comes in whether a person wants to stop or not. And wanting to stop 100% never came early for me. I was always in the midst of my addiction ambivalence with in-my-face desires early on. Wanting to quit 100% came later, after I had some quit time in to resolve my wants and needs, adjusted to a sans-alcohol lifestyle, to be honest.

Lionhearted1

But surely in order to stop drinking you must want to stop! Or why would you bother trying to ignore your av if you don't mind going along with it! Surely its totally counter productive to do avrt if you don't really want to quit!! it's like saying iam glad I can recognise my av so I can do what it says!!!

RobbyRobot

I suppose you're talking to me?

Of course wanting to quit has to be in there. Does that want to quit have to be at 100%?

No. It does not. It just has to be a want. AVRT is not concerned with the relative strength or power of the "want to quit", otherwise addiction ambivalence would defeat AVRT in its tracks.

As for ignoring my AV, I don't ignore, or otherwise "turn off" my AV. In fact, the only time I did ignore my AV (in that way) was when my intentions were to be drunk...

And finally, my hearing my AV does not mean I'm going to do what my AV wants or says. I recognise my AV and that is the end of it. To recognise it requires me to hear it (the Beast) speak.

Lionhearted1

hi robby, thanks that it makes sence!

Thepatman

Same as others here. The big plan needs to be non-negociable. If the slight idea of a drink ever comes out then It is the beast speaking. Once the plan is set there is no turning back.

In the matrix, when Neo had the choice to take the pill or not... Same thing with the plan, either do or you don't. AV in itself is what I have described.

freshstart57

Very very good, ThePatMan. I like it!