Thanks Nick -- and I would add that this "learning" is a clinical term related to classic conditioning -- NOT the conscious sort of acquiring knowledge in the lay person's sense of the term. This is very important because many of us just instinctively are trying to tweak the extinction, or un-learning, process as though we have some control over it. "As you drink on naltrexone, you will not be aware of the neural super-highways being weakened and cut back into their original condition." Eskapa, p. 106. This is repeated throughout the book: While we may feel some superficial differences drinking on nal, especially at first, these are meaningless in terms of the real work of the cure -- extinction, which takes at least three to four months(p. 117-118).

I really feel this podcast is an essential part of our TSM education so I'm glad you posted it.

Hi Folks,

I have asked Dr Eskapa if he would like to add anything further to this thread (see Questions for Dr Eskapa).

V.

Thanks Virgil - good idea.

I have been thinking about this a bit for some reason...Nick is correct, but I just think of it differently.

A trigger to me is just the start of a series of events and I guess I view TSM as extinguishing your response to a trigger, not the trigger itself. But then, if you are no longer responding to a trigger by drinking alcholol, is that initial thing still a trigger? If not, then it's extinguished.

However you interpret it - the method works, which is the most important point.

I was thinking about this too and really do not think we are far off in our interpretations. You folks interpreted a trigger as a life event that we have no control over, e.g. stress. However, I interpret a trigger as an event/thought we have no control over PLUS THE FACT IT MAKES US DRINK. This latter aspect is what defines a trigger. Once faced with the event/thought that used to make us drink but no longer makes us drink, then said event/thought (trigger) has been extinguished.

You are correct: bottom line, TSM works!

this is why in eskapas book he says to relive old drinking patterns like , drinking with the same people in the same place etc, your brains alcoholism neural net is associaterd with all 5 of your senses not just the taste and sight of booze but the places you used it etc

so for an effective tsm treatment you drink around these people at these places etc and thus these places become part of the extinction process

my understanding atleast

yup