There's your answer.

Who is the real Darris? That's the question.

The real Darris can't be found at a "function". At functions, the other Darris comes out.

Less "functions" = more Darris.

Time for change.

I understand what you are saying but have to disagree a little bit. AA is about making changes but TSM is not. At least that is my understanding of it and how it has worked for me. Of course I've made changes too, I no longer drink 15 - 20 beers at a function, only 5, that's a huge change. But that doesn't mean I have to avoid the function in order to be more like me. On the contrary if I started avoiding all the places and people associated with drinking it would not be like me at all. In TSM we are supposed to face our triggers and confront them and take control over them and then they will finally let us go.

I have noticed, especially when I kept good records of drinking, that I too increased my amounts as functions. I described this here before perhaps in my weekly update I cannot remember. The way I look at it is like this. TSM has aloud me for the first time in my life to see what normal is. I use my wife as an example because she's not an alcoholic and can take it or leave it after one drink. But I've seen her drunk on more then one occasion and usually those are at so called functions. So I see it as normal for non alcoholics every once in a while to drink to excess. This almost never happens at home for them but does at parties because well, that's just when it happens.

I have to agree with Ocean here. Mrs. Truffle has made the same point, and she's an expert in this kind of thing (as an animal trainer/behavioralist).

As The Cure says, follow the Golden Rule and carry on as usual. That means that if someone attends functions as a matter of course, then he/she should continue to attend functions.

Nal on,
Chris

That makes sense - I hadn't thought of it that way. That's exactly what TSM is saying - carry on. Thank you for that update.