Could be, yes in someways.

But I still remember that warm feeling and actually a tingling feeling in my brain from my first drink. Was it the alcohol, or the release of endorphins, I do not know. What I do know is it is no longer there. No warm feelings, not tingling in my brain...nothing!

what I meant - & I do known what you mean - that moment of taking a seat, taking the first sip/pull on a drink & getting the "ah" can't possibly be any kind of dopamine/endorphin hit, AL just doesn't work that fast

I think it's far more likely to be a mental casting-off of the day's stresses, & hence a habit/ritual-type thing & a subconscious anticipation of the AL hit to come, which is exactly what we;re trying to block with the Nal

hope you feel better xx

I think that's a great sign that you're unlearning the gratification link between drinking & that warm fuzzy feeling - your brain is no longer expecting it, so you don't feel it when you take that first drink

-badger

Badger,

You are probable right, I never thought about it like that. I always thought it was the alcohol, for I thought it got absorb pretty quickly i our systems.

Maybe I should rethink using that expression.

don't feel you have to on my account - I think a lot of people identify with your description

it's just the sneaky tricks our reptilian brains play on us, that we're trying to retain ...

I thought this was interesting:

Question:
How does alcohol travel through our bodies?

Answer:

Alcohol is metabolized extremely quickly by the body. Unlike foods, which require time for digestion, alcohol needs no digestion and is quickly absorbed. Alcohol gets VIP treatment in the body absorbing and metabolizing before most other nutrients. About 20 percent is absorbed directly across the walls of an empty stomach and can reach the brain within one minute.

Alchohol Absorption
http://prevention.gwu.edu/alcohol-absorption

Unfortunately, I always drank on an empty stomach. That was something I had to start doing when I started TSM, eating before drinking that is.

I'm not going to labour the point, but is a mouthful of beer/wine going to give you an AL dopamine "ah" hit within a minute?

can you tell me how it changes? when you get to the point that you just put the glass down or dont open the bottle? am i screwing up by continuing to drink and concern myself with how much is left in the bottle at home and needing to pick up more on my way home after work?

I just found an article in the Smithsonian Merely a Taste of Beer Can Trigger a Rush of Chemical Pleasures, so maybe I am dopamine deficient. And that would make a lot of sense. So it is more of an action of remembering...like phantom pain.


Forwardthinking,

That just takes time. When the honeymoon is over you brain is not willing to accept that rush isn't going to come, so you will drink more, and worry about drinking. It will happen suddenly, and slowly (or at least it did for me), so be on the look out for it. Drink as slow as you can, sip not gulp, drink water in between sip, and listen to how you feel. Ask yourself do you will want that or is it just habit. You might surprise yourself and say it's habit, but keep on drinking (for I did), but at least you're listening to.

Give yourself at least 16 weeks (or more) to get use to drinking slower and listen. You didn't start drinking like this over night, and it will not go away over night. It is a slow process of unlearning how to get drunk (if that makes any sense).

Jaba

you're barely starting out FT - you're only a few weeks in - don't stress over it. take your Nal, wait an hour & drink if you feel like it. it will come, give it time ...