Em, you aren't even through what Dr. Sinclair termed the 'induction' period of TSM. That was a complete 12 weeks. You should not be expecting much, if any, progress in regard to lower consumption at this point. Don't worry so much about the weekly tallies - think in terms of '6-8 months out,' and you'll get less frustrated over the short term.

Hang in here!

I must agree with the prior responses, especially Firebird's. The guitar analogy is excellent. I am a poor guitar player, but I can play nevertheless. I experienced the same plateau phenomenon as Firebird did. Sometimes I even improved a little even when I didn't practice.

If you look at my numbers this week, I am likely going down to a plateau this week 16. My units per day suddenly halved for whatever reason. It surprised me. Before that, my numbers had hardly moved since I started. 15 weeks of so-called "no progress"! Little did I know that progress was being made deep inside my brain. But I just couldn't see it. I like this quote from Lao Tzu (600 BCE) "People... often fail when they are about to succeed. If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure." I found this quote last week when I thought my treatment was going nowhere. The support here (and that quote) helped me to continue. What if I had stopped TSM last week? Answer: I wouldn't be seeing the progress being made this week.

Bob

Absolutely right! This quote should be our mantra. We don't know what is going on behind the scenes. Unlearning, like learning is a non-linear process, and the the threshold of greatest progress is often when we think we are going nowhere. Our brains are hard at work, whether we know it or not, just as they were when we became addicted to alcohol.

I have learned to "ride the waves" of TSM, so that I view those times of "no measurable progress" as the times that I am probably making the greatest strides in my de-addiction.

FB: I learned long ago that drunks have a lot to offer, spiritually, intellectually, emotionally... basically, every level. Now I will never be able to dismiss another light-weight heavy metal band again, like Poison, Twisted Sister, Guns 'N Roses, etc., without thinking that Firebird might be playing bass. Thank you for opening up my mind one more time.