Virgil, Sabrina and others who may be interested in MCII, let's talk about it here.

From what I can see this is simply a variant of the old stuff we've already heard of. "When I want some potato chips, I will eat a piece of fruit instead" was one of the suggested scenarios in what I read. I'm sorry I did not pay attention to where I read this. So if we want to translate this to TSM we would say "well, I want to have an AF day, so I won't take my Nal, and when I want a drink, I'll reach for a glass of iced tea instead."

More formally, the intention is to plan very specifically to do something opposed to the desire to do something damaging. This, as opposed to simply expressing the desire to change. I'm not sure this is new.

One way this technique would work with TSM is when we want to introduce new behaviour when the Nal is washed out of the system. Nal is washed out, endorphins are ready for a shot - we have sex, or eat cheesecake, or cuddle a baby as suggested by Dr. Sinclair - in that case the endorphins are stimulated by the new planned activity.

Is this not just a new label on old stuff like Cognitive Therapy? I'm not knocking MCII at all but I don't see it as something new. Besides with addiction to alcohol I personally would have to be very close to having AF days before I'd have the courage to do this. I'd be happy to eat a peach instead of eating chips!!! But not having my shot of alcohol when I'm really stressed but having a drink of ANYTHING else instead is not going to happen anytime soon, even if I plan it like a military campaign!!!

Thoughts anyone?

HI BGH-- I've been scouring my notes from my conversation with Dr. Willenbring, who was the first person to mention MCII to me. To the best of my recollection, he said that while it was not a technique that was brand-new, it's only been recently that he and some others have started seeing success in applying it to trying to alter drinking patterns. I don't have a background in psychology, but I think some of the newer modifications in the approach include not to just plan ahead, but to concretely visualize scenarios ahead of time, and then make your reaction automatic. I know that sounds a bit like gobbledy-gook, but I'm including two links to articles about MCII where it seems to have worked recently in modifying two different behaviors (exercise and studying). The authors of the exercise study describe MCII as "a self-regulation technique that uses various components of cognitive-behavioral interventions and puts them into a specific sequence. Mental contrasting facilitates goal commitment whereas implementation intentions further goal implementation."

I actually wasn't thinking of using MCII with AF days (which I fear are far ahead in my future), but to try and do everything I can to reinforce the changes in my approach to alcohol that NAL is helping with on a physiological level with behavioral modifications as well. My goal isn't abstinence (though I'd love to be able to have AF days whenever I chose to), but to have full control over what and when I drink and to have my drinking be in moderation. My hope would be that MCII, if I can figure out exactly how to do it :>), could help me automatically only have one drink when I'm cooking dinner (instead of three), or not to take a glass of wine up to bed with me etc etc. Anyway, here are the links -- I'm sorry they are so long, but I couldn't figure out how to transpose them otherwise (I'm still getting the hang of participating in an on-line forum, so any techncial suggestions are welcome)!

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache%3Av ... l=en&gl=us

and
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cach ... YIGvEn7qkA

I have been doing this, although I wasn't aware it had an official name. It wouldn't have worked in the early stages of TSM because like BGH says nothing was going to substitute for alcohol. But now I use it sometimes, not so much as in "I'd like a glass of wine, so i think I'll have some grapes" - that wouldn't work at all for me. It goes more like, "Maybe I'll take a nal and have some beers tonight. Or I could save a nal and gp book shopping." By picking something that I don't associate with drinking, and I know it's going to take at least a couple of hours, I offer myself an alternative that rules out the nal and couple of beers.

Like I said, it wouldn't have worked in the first five months for me, but TSM has tipped the control balance to where these kinds of techniques can be pretty useful.

Hi BGH,

In one of the articles that I read (can't remember which one!), I seem to recall a statement saying that MCII is indeed a development from CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). And that would make sense as MCII addresses both the cognitive and behavioural aspects of making goals a reality. Clearly, CBT is not new but I do believe that MCII is new. From what little I know about it, MCII is an attempt to put together a structured approach to goal-setting and goal-achieving. I don't see it as revolutionary. Indeed, it seems to me to be plain common sense [*], not that there is anything wrong with that.

In one of my posts on the No more warm glow? thread, I quoted a reference saying that the (MCII) technique can be learned in a single session. Now, although that may be true, I suspect that implementing MCII may be a whole different ball-game!

All the best.

V.

[*] I seem to recall that it was Einstein who said that common sense is a set of prejudices that we all acquire before we reach the age of eighteen!

boy, I used to call my sister for a nice long gab so I wouldn't have to do my housework, now I just log on here LOL

Firebird, I think you have nailed this: we pick something different, not just a substitute for learned behaviour i.e. I'll not pop a Nal tonight and have that wine while I prepare dinner. I'll have a glass of grape juice instead. NO. I'll not pop a Nal tonight and I'll eat a bigger lunch, skip dinner, and go to an early show instead.

I think if I were to substitute non-alcoholic wine (yuck) for the real stuff, and try to tell myself I'm implementing this MCII theory it would not work. I will have to do something totally unrelated. Where can I find a baby at this late date? LOL

You know I don't think substituting that peach for the chips would work either - both are related to eating, no? Can we please explore this a bit more and not let it drop. I think this has potential for off Nal days in future. I'm with you Sabrina with the wine thing at dinner time. Last night was cool though. Had one before - no effect whatsoever - had another during - no effect whatsoever - stopped and went to bed. Have not had that "no effect" thing since week one's honeymoon. But I'm not ready to try AF just yet. Does not feel like the time, for my nutty psychological reasons.