thanks for the encouragement all. I'm not giving up just yet

I'm going to try an AF night tonight, and if i manage it, this week will be my joint lowest consumption since I started TSM

Go for it
Good luck!!! my fingers and toes are crossed for you!!!
But if it doesn't work out, don't beat yourself up, it will be just another extinction.

well I didn't manage to go AF tonight, but I did get one AF day this week and consumption down to 71 units, which is definitely a step back in the right direction.
interestingly my consumption seems to be decreasing at the rate of about 1 (UK) unit per day per month.

Current guesstimate is mid-end of January for moderate drinking levels ~2 UK units per day average

I'm feeling good right now. Lowest consumption since I started TSM, and 2 AF days

Current guesstimate for moderate drinking levels is approximately start of the new year, which seems apt

Wonderful, you've proved that patience wins the day - you are on your way.

I'm happy for you and that you're seeing progress. What a wonderful feeling! We're right behind you pushing you on.

corkit

Glad to see your making progress and that you seem more optimistic.

well almost 2 weeks since my last post on this thread. I'm approaching the end of week 24, so almost 6 months into the method, well past the time when the book suggested I might be cured.
I've been up and I've been down - both in my mood, and in my consumption.

Right now, I'm definitely on my up in the mood stakes and on my way down in consumption. I'm on a 5 week downward trend before this week, and the last two weeks have been record low consumptions. I'm probably going to be up marginally this week, but only by a couple of units, so I'm not going to worry about. Much more positively this is the third week in a row I've managed 2 AF days in the week - this coming from someone who was basically a 7 day drinker with 1-2 AF days per month before this. I've made a concious effort now to allocate Monday and Wednesday as 'dry days' and to try and drop a couple of units here and there as a concious effort. It has been easier than I've thought it would be and my cravings overall are also down.

My current typical week (I measure it Friday to Thursday inclusive) in terms of drinking looks something like this:

Friday: Weekend, yay! Have a drink, or 10 (10-20 units)
Saturday: See above (10-20 units) At least one if not both of these nights involve meeting friends for drinks, and are usually followed by an hour or two of me drinking and watching TV/DVDs when I get home.
Sunday: Go visit my parents, usually a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, followed by a few drinks when I get home (the lid being off the bottle as it were ) (8-12 units)
Monday: Go out to a non drinking event usually, but if not, try to stay dry
Tuesday: Have a couple of drinks (5-8 units)
Wednesday: Have a dry night
Thursday: Have a couple of drinks (5-8 units)

As I move into december, I'm going to try to modify that to (at least!)
Friday: Weekend, yay! Have a drink, or 10 (8-14 units)
Saturday: See above (8-14 units) Just have a drink or two less when I get home, particularly if I stay in.
Sunday: Go visit my parents, usually a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, followed by a few drinks when I get home (the lid being off the bottle as it were ) (4-6 units). I'm going to try not to drink when I get home from my folks.
Monday: Go out to a non drinking event usually, but if not, try to stay dry
Tuesday: Have a couple of drinks (5-8 units)
Wednesday: Have a dry night
Thursday: Have a couple of drinks (5-8 units)

That should take me down from ~55 to ~45

Coming up towards Christmas, as I'll probably be going out more, I'm going to try and 'polarise' my week a little more by having 3 AF days. Fingers crossed!

Hey 1-4 I'm so glad you are continuing to feel positive and see progress- long may it continue. Who know when i get back from oz maybe you wil have reached your goal.
Best wishes
SBTS