Shouldnt it be louder?
 

Been a week or so since I made my Big Plan. Im not hearing a lot from the Beast. When I state my Big Plan, i feel / hear it. But all those times in the past when I had thought I had cravings or I was white knuckling, which I know now are the beast, are just not there. Like when I go out to a restaurant to eat, or to the gas station.
Am I having false security? Is this a trick by the Beast and AV?

Thanks in advance.

Thoughts of drinking may come when you least expect them to. Just having the awareness is good. Pay attention to that.

Hi HFA, the presence or absence of AV is neither good nor bad.

Congratulations on your Big Plan!

But, the BP has shook the Beast to its core, never say never says the Beast and you've violated ITs cardinal rule, by imposing your own, to counter it's perverse logic.

So, the Beast has a common ploy in the early days, which you must be watchful for as you practice AVRT. After the BP, the AV may quieten, if not disappear altogether. Next, as you feel the benefits of abstinence, physically and mentally........the AV may start up again. "You've done so well, haven't had a drink in X days/weeks (the Beast counts days) you probably weren't an alcoholic, just drank a bit too much, you can probably have a couple of glasses of wine with a meal, or a couple of beers watching the game or after playing a sport, or to unwind, you've had a stressful day, but you've been so good. You stopped a few weeks ago, completely, so you can have a few drinks this weekend and stop again on Monday" on and on, says the Beast through the AV.

The AV is also images, so after a strenuous day gardening for instance, on a hot day, it will send images of a cold glass of beer and you sitting and relaxing with your feet up, drinking.

In my own perverse way, in the early days, as the AV congratulated me on abstinence and suggested a drink to 'celebrate' my abstinence, I'd almost welcome the AV as an opportunity to practice AVRT and thereby:

1. Recognise the thought, feeling or imagery as AV (not me with the BP) and,
2. Dismiss the AV

The only false thing about a false sense of security is the false-ness. Having made your BP ,arbitrarily set your confidence at 100% and believe it, the only one who doesn't believe it is the Beast( and who cares what IT thinks).

In my experience it's unpredictable. It can be quiet for long periods of time, even in situations where I would expect it to be loud. Then it can surprise me. I try not to make too much of either its noise or its silence.

There are instances where the Beast will lay low, usually when it is temporarily risky or impossible to drink, and there is a plan to drink in place once this passes. Once example would be a pending court date appearance for a DUI charge. An everyday drinker may not hear their AV in the weeks prior to their court date appearance, because they already have a plan to drink afterwards.

Likewise, an all-day, every-day drinker may not hear their AV if they are in jail, because it is too risky or impossible to drink, and they have a plan to drink following their release. Their Beast can live with that arrangement, just as IT can live with 'just for today' tentative sobriety, because IT knows that IT will get fed eventually, and doesn't need to cause too much trouble.

Barring an incipient plan to drink, however, as in the aforementioned scenarios, I would say that your fear of having a 'false sense of security' is simply the Addictive Voice itself. The Beast is saying that it is a good thing that IT has been quiet lately, as if your abstinence were contingent on AV silence. This is one of the most vexing forms of AV, but it points to self-doubt about remaining abstinent, which suggests the opposite.

The Beast is saying that if you are not very careful, and stay very vigilant, and constantly look over your shoulder, that IT will come in from the parking lot, after doing lots of push-ups, and pounce. By cunningly boasting of its own silence, the Beast is saying that you should be glad that IT has been quiet, because IT MAY GET YOU, as if it were Freddy Kreuger, and you were trying not to fall asleep on Elm Street.

In AVRT, it is neither good nor bad to have a desire to drink. The absence of AV is not good, the presence of AV is not bad, and fear of AV is AV itself.

Wonder if my therapist would laugh if I told her how funny the people from the forum I hang out on think the idea of the Beast doing push-ups is? I wonder how many lbs my Beast could press? :lmao

While certainly possible, if she reads the RR book, it is likely that your therapist may not be able to grasp the ideas behind AVRT. This is because her present understanding of recovery from addiction rests on the uncertainty principle, whereby drinking 'just happens' unless first prevented. The 'push-ups' idea is simply a description of the relapse prevention model, and this is precisely why she uses it.

You may nevertheless want to suggest to your therapist that she read the RR book, if only to become aware of a different paradigm of addiction and recovery, as a matter of personal development. It would also give her the ability to make her clients aware of the existence of AVRT as a viable method of recovery. I would imagine that at least some of her clients do not respond well to other approaches.

Yeah when I first booked therapy I was looking for CBT and in my first session I told her about AVRT and she said it sounded like I was already doing a version of CBT. She was very interested in the book and wrote it down. Whether she ever read it I have no idea, I never asked but I will. We don't even really talk about my struggles with whether or not to drink.... I just tell her that I'm still abstinent and we talk about other issues.

I agree though that it should be more widely available! Once you get the hang of it, it's amazing how effective it is. I wish everyone suffering with addiction knew about it and allowed themselves to be open minded enough to really digest it and start putting it to use.

What struggles about whether or not to drink? I thought you have a big plan.
GT

That's why we don't talk about it because there's nothing to talk about.

Thanks for the extended reply. I always appreciate your time.
IT has stirred once or twice. I usually tell it to F off. I know I should probly tell IT I don't drink and never will., But F off seems more efficient and satisfying.
If I hear what your saying there is no reason to be on guard, just deal with the AV when it happens?
BTW, every time I post here I can feel IT being very uncomfortable.