Hi everyone,

I have really enjoyed reading your success stories and I have really committed to this method. I am 5 weeks in, and am "drinking as I normally would" which for me is 2 bottles of wine a night. And that is basically what I am still drinking. Every once in a while it is less, but not often enough for a pattern. What am I doing wrong? I have broken the Golden Rule a couple of times, but I have been very good.

Any advice is welcome.

5 weeks in isn't really that long in TSM terms. Just keep doing what you're doing and you will likely see improvements. Oh, and remember, if you're trying not to drink two bottles of wine a night, what you're "doing wrong" is still drinking two bottles of wine a night. If you're an "average" person, Naltrexone has probably already gifted you with some extra "will-power" you didn't have 5 weeks ago. I'd say now is about the time you should start actively trying to NOT drink your normal amount. Naltrexone's not a magic pill, just a tool to give you strength that you wouldn't otherwise have.

Are you able to sabotage your habits (when sober) such that you only have one bottle of wine available to drink? Along those lines, try to think of crafty ways to "trick" drunk-you when you are sober. Once you start breaking the 2-bottle-a-night habit, then you can start trying to knock-out alcohol-free days here and there. Then string them together. Then add them up to nice lengths of time. That's when you're free.

Here's a clip from a movie (Ella Enchanted). When I saw this scene years ago (while drunk, of course) I broke down in tears because it really represented my addiction to me. In the scene, Ella is under a curse wherein she has to obey everything anyone tells her to do. In this scene, she is commanded to kill the prince, her love. This is when she breaks the spell -- "What's inside of you is stronger than any spell." The look on her face when she says, "I'm free" about killed me. Hang in there, once you break this 2-bottle spell, you'll probably realize how weak and silly it all was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l24yOwR9saU

As Barry said, five weeks isn't that long. A "cure" usually takes at least three months, and wine drinkers take longer for some reason. Don't let that worry you too much; you'll see progress before the actual cure.

Stop breaking the Golden Rule, though. This isn't like cheating on a diet. Cheating on extinction gives you intermittent reinforcement, which actually makes the behavior harder to extinguish.

It's way too early to conclude that it isn't working for you. We'd all like to be "three-pill cure," but some of us aren't.

If we're lucky, Ruthy will pop up. She's a wine drinker having a pretty long trip to cured, but she has come a long way since she started.

Thank you both.

Dear catelindeman,
Please read my last post it is a miracle but it took me a year. Hang in there. The change for me was so invisible that it took me weeks of alcohol free to reassess the situation. For now I think it works!
Good luck Erk.

" What am I doing wrong? I have broken the Golden Rule a couple of times..."

Gee.... I wonder why they call it the Golden rule...

Extinction cannot happen if you break the rule. Pavlov's dogs would not have salivated if they sometimes received food without the bell.

Read the book. Understand the science. How many times in the book does he talk about The Golden Rule? When I read it I thought he was being needlessly repetitve to the point that it bothered me.

From your post I now surmise that he has learned from experience that the Golden Rule cannot be emphasized enough.

I have to repeat the same.

Firstly breaking the Golden Rule of taking Naltrexone at least 1 hour before every time you drink, will slow and possibly reverse any progress made. The graph in the book by Dr Eskapa shows how quickly the process can be reversed.

Secondly if you are forcing down 2 bottles because that is how you used to drink, then you are most probably missing the point. I prefer 'drink as you feel' to 'drink as you normally would'. The way in which TSM seems to show it's effects is that it allows you to make the decision not to carry on drinking during a session. I'd recommend slowing down, testing yourself before the end of 2 bottles - try stopping a couple of glasses short and going to bed. This could really make a difference however you must use naltrexone every time you drink for this to work, and allow 1 hour before drinking.

Thirdly it can take 6-12 months for total success ie return to normal, controlled drinking. Although I considered myself cured at 6 months it took me a total of 2 years 4 months from start to finish to get to the point where I didn't want to drink alcohol full stop, and chose complete abstenance.

Not to ruin the party, but I'm a heavy drinker (4 liters of beer each night) and after 8 months of the golden rule I am still waking up hung over, depressed and hating myself. I can not endorse TSM in my experience. I'm sorry, but it's not working for me, so if there are others out there (which I suspect are the most vocal here) that do not agree with me, then I am sorry. I am just beginning to think that TSM is nothing more than a support club for those with a MILD addiction to alcohol...

I get that you're unhappy about it not working for you, but I don't want others misled into thinking that it's only for those with small problems, so I'd like to ask you to read part one and part two of my story and tell me if you still think it's just for those with baby addictions.

http://naltrexonekey.blogspot.com/2013/ ... art-1.html

http://naltrexonekey.blogspot.com/2013/ ... art-2.html

I'm sorry that you're one of the unlucky 10%, but please don't mislead others.

GoatBeard 4 liters of beer is just a 12 pack. I'd say that puts you on the milder side of alcoholics.

I sent you a PM.