To all of you who are trying for an AF day I'm hoping the best for you all. Today, Monday I'm going for it my first AF day in well who knows how long but this is a new beginning for me I think. We'll see how long it lasts.

Good luck to all who are going for it!
corkit

We are all in the same camp: we know firsthand that living an alcoholic life sucks. I was AF but I'm usually AF so no big deal for me. I applaud everyone's effort for an AF day. While I understand people's sensitivity to the subject, I thought having an AF day was a good idea and that clearly no harm or offense was intended.

And with respect to the controversial issue of "effort" - I do have an opinion which I will repeat because I fell squarely into Nemo's camp of continuing to drink ten drinks per session four or five months into TSM. I found that I was drinking out of "habit", not craving, a lot of the time. How did I figure out the difference? As I was drinking I thought, "You have a deadly addiction. Do you want to have another drink or do you want to see if you can do without it." And after several months into TSM, the answer was I could do without it: I stopped drinking and it didn't take much effort. Bottom line for me: if you are many months into the method and your numbers haven't dropped, try using a little purposeful effort to stop or cut down. You will probably find that after years of being powerless to stop pre-TSM, your mind has been re-wired by naltrexone to the point you can make the rational choice to stop. Naltrexone = return to sanity from insanity.

On the other hand, if you still have an uncontrollable craving to drink when you try to stop or cut down, drink through that trigger because your addiction has not yet been extinguished.

Nick my friend, I believe you have nailed a critical distinction in it is not so much a matter of if effort should be applied, but more a matter of when is it appropriate (useful) to do so. Application of will before the program has brought you some measure of control is not only not useful, but could be discouraging. However, once you have some control, then many of us find it beneficial to start exercising that control, that it may grow stronger.

In any case it is not a moral question but a practical one: is application of will going to help my situation right now? Other people can't really answer that question for you, but as control comes, so also comes the ability to answer that question for yourself. Some here have had great success using TSM in it's purest form (no effort needed). Others, including myself, have found it beneficial to use a form of TSM + to achieve best results.

In any event we are not here to judge each other, but to support each other in our common goal to be free of addiction. just my $.02 worth

Nick and Firebird, you've expressed so much better what I was trying to say. Thank you.

As always, wishing everyone the best in their difficult journey.

For the record, I was AF on Sunday... but then again, I have been AF for so many Sundays, I've lost count.

I like the distinction that Nick made between effort required for fighting a craving which we don't want to do under TSM, and effort for not drinking because it's just a habit that we do on a Sunday afternoon. The difference is quite apparent once you've been cured. So post-cure or even during the "cure period" when you should be responding, some minor effort may be appropriate.

Just remember the mice in Sinclair's experiment(s); I seriously doubt they used any effort, but they had a choice immediately available to them and eventually they chose water, not AL.

Bob

I think that's exactly where I'm at....Habit. I am going to type out Nick's meditation above and tape it up in my studio. And literally say it to myself and try to have two drinks. I ended up having a little more than I wanted but I haven't really flexed what I think is my new found control.

Plus I want a non nal AF day and I would love a two day no NAL to feel opiod upregulation. I've only made it one day but I did feel something at the late next day as I was doing things taht I liked but caved and drank that night.....

OK take care,...Jim

Hey Jim, add this thought when you decide if you really need that next drink:

WE ARE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

My best,

Nick

AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE CHOICE . . . .If you honestly feel you have no choice, don't beat yourself up . . . . the day WILL come. We gotcher back.


All my best, lena

i love you guys

Thanks so much,...much love, Jim