Chris, I'd suggest a book by Alex Korb called "The Upward Spiral". The cover mentions depression, but it's really about anxiety and stress and how that gets handed over to the unconscious, automatic part of the brain (where the drinking habit is stored, btw). The focus is on bringing in the right part of conscious part of the brain at the right place to plant a little change. One that will (with comparatively little effort) use the brain's own mechanism to automatically create an "Upward Spiral". One of the benefits here has to do with mindfulness, as it seems like when there's a temptation to drink without Nal, something important is slipping by right under your nose without your notice. Just being able to recognize and experience it is going to be a big advantage for you, because if it slips by without the conscious part of your brain noticing it, it will be automatically handled by the unconscious part (which has done a lousy job with alch control in the past).

This isn't the same old "Positive Thinking" approach and in going over the individual functions that the various parts of the brain handles, you'll get a bit of insight as to how TSM works. It could be a leg up for you, especially if you have recurrent anxiety in certain situations and want a more creative hand in how you handle that.

I ordered the book off amazon. Thank you for the recommendation. I really appreciate it.

You can definitely drink through the Nal, which is a little scary. Otherwise, in good shape on this end.

Glad to hear all is well, Chris!

Yes, I've done that a few times myself. Be listening for the conscious commentary to intercede, may be kind of quiet at first.

Hay Chris
The first few months I tried TSM (a year ago), I did the same thing...skipping pills to reward myself. It was horrible and didn't work at all. I hadn't read the book at that point and thought that the pills would inhibit the amount I drank...rather than help with extinction learning. Not only that, but I sometimes took a pill after the first glass, so gave myself the reward I wanted and then hoped the pill would stop me from opening the second bottle!! That didn't work either. I'm only 2 days in to this second attempt, and I have some bad side effects, so the urge to skip the pill and feel better is strong. But we also have to be stronger in giving the method a chance to work and just take the pill...then drink if we want, being mindful of our behavior along the way.

I wish you luck with your journey (and your work!)
gottatry