soberlicious

What difference does it make? That's the realization I came to many years ago...whether I do or don't have "addictive tendencies", whether or not my mother loved me enough, whether or not I have a "disease"...all of that is simply mind chatter that will keep me going in circles. The fact of the matter is, I can quit for good whether or not any of those things are true or present. So, in terms of my goal (quitting), then those issues are completely separate from my goal. My quitting doesn't hinge on answering any of those questions.

AVRT is a method that can help you create separation between your goal of quitting and all the things that are keeping you from quitting by putting the focus solely where it needs to be...quitting for good. Anything else can be dealt with after, or not...as you see fit.

GerandTwine

My personal chronology as I transitioned through the conditions defined in the glossary in the back of the RR book may help put the meaning of Addiction into a clearer perspective.

I was born an
Abstainer. 18 years later I became a
Non-Dependent drinker/user. 3 years later I became a
Chemically Dependent drinker/user. 8 years later I became an
Addicted drinker/user. 2 years later I became an
Abstainer - a common teetotaler.

Two months later I was coerced into the Recovery Group Movement/Addiction Treatment Industry behemoth consequently suffering the Stockholm Syndrome (Hmmm, I wonder if that's a disease).

15 years later I escaped with the help of brand new AVRT and again became a common teetotaler with zero percent of my life spent maintaining my recovery.

But I did have a determination to learn the true history of the RGM/ATI all the way back to its origins 200 years ago and have done that.

16 years later I joined Sober Recovery. 16 months later, while logged onto SC, I made a Big Plan against eating man-made sweets. That was 2 1/2 years ago.

Unlike the unconflicted enjoyment of Chemical Dependency, Addiction is an unpleasant and unstable condition that can be ended quickly and permanently by pledging a Big Plan. For a long time, now, I have been pleased that I can no longer recall what it felt like to be under the influence of alcohol.

You are exactly correct. Before the Big Plan, it was an internal conflict. After the Big Plan it was not an issue any more.

GT

MythOfSisyphus

Greetings to another Octoberist!

I can't speak to the medical aspect but four Octobers ago I was in a similar position. When I found SR I was at a very low point in my life with alcohol having really beat me down. Luckily I discovered AVRT at the same time and made my Big Plan. Now I can't recommend that anyone follow my path but at the time I didn't realize that going from 25 years of daily drinking to zero could be dangerous. But to be honest I had reached a point where I would have rather died from withdrawals than get blackout drunk even one more time.

Four years after I made my Big Plan I still haven't had so much as a sip. So it can be done! But I would counsel you to listen to your doctor. No point kicking the bottle only to kick the bucket!

Algorithm

I find this very interesting, because I never suffered Stockholm Syndrome. I didn't have to wait 15 years for AVRT, though.

Luckily, RR does not encourage any dependency on RR. They teach you information, and then encourage you to get on with life.

Goodfellas

Thank you for your comment . I appreciate your input- makes sense


I guess I'm posting and asking questions about it Bc it's what my counselor told me our last session

That my "addiction" is a disease and my brain chemistry has literally changed due to abusing substances over the previous years

I've been off booze for 2 years

soberlicious

Keep in mind that the disease model is theory, not fact. Did your counselor scan your brain? What does he/she say that this "literal change in brain chemistry" means for you going forward?
Are you following a medical taper?

Algorithm

You stated that it's been two years since you quit drinking. Are you still seeing this counselor for addiction problems?

shockozulu

SMART is the same way. Last weekend I mentioned to a woman about the four phases of life balance and how eventually people will get to the point they don't need meetings anymore and "step out." Even though she's never done AA her eyes lit up at the fact there is life after drinking and we don't have to keep coming back for years just to remain sober. She was so happy to hear that I had stopped meetings myself for a few years and only recently started going to one's for a different issue- my ex-fiancee is an alcoholic and I need some tools to let go of his hold on me.

CelticZebra

Welcome and congrats for 2 years without booze and the desire to want to be back in control over your own mind and to learn how you can do that without abusing chemicals or using 'acting out' behaviours (compulsive/habitual)

It is obviously sensible to taper with docs advice to rid the body of the substance in question safely without undue risk to life.
The AVRT method can be used alongside this and a BIg Plan at the end of the taper would also be sensible IMO.

Learning the tools to reduce anxiety in healthy and natural ways is important alongside a healthy diet and exercise to build up confidence and help release natural endorphins.
The mindset I am acquiring along my journey through sobriety is one of trusting myself to do he RIGHT thing for me.
After I made my BP I immediately felt the ACE effect as I truly believed it, deep down.
Once I learnt how to identify the voice of the beast (AV) and strengthened that knowledge by reading the book and reading the AVRT thread here as well as actively pursuing a different lifestyle to make myself happier and healthier it became so much easier and I regularly say no to different things that I know aren't good for me e.g. Chocolate or pudding

I was told by my psychiatrist 17 years ago that I had an addictive personality. I kind of used it as a excuse further down the line when i went through years of denial and ended up totally dispelling this idea to myself by using AVRT to quit alcohol.


Brain science is still so new and it takes a long time for any new information to be filtered down to the level of where practitioners can offer such information (funny how drugs seem to filter down quicker!)
The therapeutic community also have only recently been using new methods (CBT as one example) and again it takes a long time for these things to be accepted on the 'shop floor' and used in everyday working practice

I've just got a new therapist and I'm not sure she is yet a good fit for me yet: I haven't had any counselling since 2012 so this is my first since I quit drinking.
I've had several different therapists for several different therapies over the years but the only person I can really trust is myself.

Believe

Driving my wagon of hope through beautiful views on my road to myself

soberlicious

I love this so much.

jazzfish

Wow. This hits home today. I just recently went to a new therapist and she seemed to steer everything toward her areas of specialty rather than what I was saying. I left with the image of her beckoning me down her own particular rabbit hole.

zerothehero

Stockholm Syndrome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W_z...JdV04&index=35

"You gotta sacrifice the thing you love the most... I have walked through the shadow... It's so good to feel the light... It's so good to feel alright..."

Jerry Joseph, the singer/songwriter here, is in recovery. Just reminded me of these guys...