I think these words from Eskapa's book are often misunderstood. I think it means that you should drink under the same conditions that got you into trouble in the first place, and target that behavior for extinction. If you drink in bars or pubs, take your TSM to the bar or pub. If you drink while you cook, target that instead. If you drink beer continue to do so, and put beer in you TSM sights.

All too often though it seems to be interpreted as a statement regarding quantity of units, as in continue to drink to excess regardless of your level of craving (that was certainly ho I felt about TSM when I first read about it, sounds great especially since It doesn't interfere with my drinking ).

JMHO now, but I think consumption has to mirror your craving. and that takes some effort. Maybe the statement if you don't feel like drinking don't drink should be added to the instructions for clarification. How could you even tell if your cravings are reduced without putting it to the test on occasion? If you just continue to get drunk every night how could you even tell if TSM is working or not? I don't know but this is what seems to be at the heart of the moderation issue. Personally I'm beginning to see moderation methods as means to maximize TSM results.

I guess I'd rather aim for stopping at two if it's effortless, rather than bang down six or ten out of sheer habit.

The only way to know that, is to follow that approach. Taking the naltrexone, then drinking excessively never gives the naltrexone a chance to assert its affects.

It is surprising how easy AF and moderate days become, and how they become the new norm. It will never happen though, unless you do it.

It's tempting to drag the process out, and keep the unit count high, so you can continue drinking. Is that enjoyable though, do you get anything out of it? After going through all this, I cannot imagine wanting to drink as before, as there's just no upside to it whatsoever. See link

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/colum ... ng-dry.ece

I think you've got the right idea, for sure

This is very interesting indeed. My question is how do you go about it? Previously in various forms I have tried moderation, but they all have their problems. I have either set out a certain amount of alcohol at the beginning of the evening say a beer and half bottle of wine and only had that however I will always have that and it leaves no room for having less.

I've also tried never allowing my blood alcohol level to get above a certain amount by recording accurately what I've had I think I read to try to keep it below 0.55% but that's a lot of faffing about.

How do you do moderation?

I'm primarily doing just four moderation steps at this point to accompany TSM.

1) Counting and tracking carefully, and trying to stay "goal oriented" on a weekly basis. At this point my goal is to stay under 30 USA units (53 UK units) for the week. I think most of us are doing that or something similar.

2) Working in AF days to benefit my personal and work schedule. If I have something important at work that comes up I try to schedule a preceeding AF day. I know it's forcing it a bit, but it's much easier now than before I started TSM. It's a habit I know I should develop, and I'm convinced that as my weeks/months in TSM tick by it will only get easier, and will come more naturally.

3) Taking breaks between drinks, and this one thing has made a really big difference. I usually start with two drinks and then make a point of stopping for a while and drinking something non-alcoholic. This combined with naltrexone works like magic at least 50% of the time. I lose all craving and just stop drinking for the night. If I don't, I can easily fall into the "same old same old trap " and just mindlessly keep going until 6-8 USA units are gone.

4) I started attending a face-to-face Moderation Management meeting, solely for the purposes of self-education. I have never attended AA or anything else, so attending a meeting to openly discuss my drinking with others was a first for me............well, maybe a second since I really first did that here on this forum. Anyway, MM is secular and non-judgemental, just people who recognize that they have a problem or a problem in the works, and want to take sensible steps to moderate. They were uninformed about TSM but that's OK. They were interested for the most part, and as far as I could tell none of them were drinking at the high levels I was when I started.

I'd say numbers 2 and 3 at this point have helped the most, especially 3 and there's an element of synergy to it: NAL + AL + HESITATION = CRAVINGS DISAPPEAR = DRINKING LESS = GRADUAL DETOX = LESS DEPRESSED. At this point I'm pretty sure I have altogether detoxed by keeping my numbers lower, and I feel better during the day and sleep better at night. I also feel A LOT less depressed than where I was in September and October. Usually it's the opposite with my depression worsening with shorter days and winter approaching. Sinclair's clinical trials proved that alcohol is the cause of many drinkers' depression, and I'm seeing that result first hand.

BINGO, All41. # Two and three definitely help the most. It comes as a real surprise, that if you stop after two drinks or so, the desire just flies out the window.

All I would add to your list, is

4. NO alone drinking !!! Pretty easy to keep the glass from getting empty in that situation.

5. Never more than two days in a row

Instead of saying I'm going to drink a half a bottle of wine, or whatever, I plan on never drinking more than four drinks, which usually translates into two, because I usually never want the third and fourth.

This is not a willpower thing, I repeat not a willpower thing, and did I mention, not a willpower thing?

All, do you like the moderation approach ?

I never forget to track my drinking daily and like this method of moderation which I will use.

Guapo if I never drank when I was alone I would not have this problem and would rarely drink as I do not go out very much at all maybe
once or twice a month! But that is when I crave to drink most so that is where I need Nal+Drinking for TSM to extinguish my cravings.

For me giving the Nal a chance to work is key. If I take the pill and then try to get buzzed I drink more than I want, and a lot of the discipline I am building is lost. If I sort of just drink 'normally' and have one, eat, relax, have another .. it is much easier to stop. I'm not to the point yet where I don't drink with a purpose once or twice a week, but even these days are five US drinks versus 10 pre-Nal.

I think the most important thing is to take the pill and drink. Every time you drink with the pill, you train your brain that this drinking stuff isn't fun like it used to be. Your brain isn't stupid though. It's had a long history of knowing that alcohol is lots of fun, so it takes a lot of training for the message to get through. Eventually, your brain will relent, but it will take a lot of pill/drink sessions. I think the frequency of your drinking is far more important than the quantity. I drank every day, so I had plenty of sessions and it worked well. I do not recommended trying to abstain from drinking until the addiction is completely erased. Having said that, I don't think it matters much if you have 2 or 20 drinks per session, the brain still gets the message. Cutting down the quantity seems fine, but not the frequency until you are cured. I found that cutting down the quantity more or less came naturally and I just set limits and found them ever easier to achieve.