I'm in the USA and it seems many of the folks here are Brits, is that right? Happy to have found y'all. This is an introduction as the forum requests, i'd rather begin the give and take communication, but here goes: I began the TSM protocol on 22nd of March after doing a lot of reading (Eskapa, studies, etc) and of course, failing at controlling my excessive drinking. I do not have a history of drug abuse; drug use yes when much younger but not abuse. Since i was exposed and experimented with drugs in my teens and early 20s and never became enamored with the affects, I thought i was immune to having issues with narcotics, no familial history to speak of. But alcohol use/abuse has crept up on me over the last 2 decades. It has become a problem within the last several years after a long period of unemployment where I was trying to "find myself" and living off savings. Money (not much) is long gone (squandered) no new "selfs" have emerged but the drinking remains, to a point where is has impeded restarting my career.
I want to not want to drink. Right? Cravings, can't get past more than a few days w/o and then the cravings TAKE OVER. My health is suffering; I've put on 30 pounds most in the last 18 months, I don't think clearly and am depressed and angry on days after. Fortunately, after 12 months i have found a job that is not stressful, recognizes my worth somewhat and although low-paying, enough to get by a far cry better than the last 18 months.
I would really like to connect here. Ill be happy to give input where it makes sense. I'm using Naltima according to TSM. My more immediate question to the forum is should i be "trying" to cut back a bit? Or should i just continue drinking as before? I don't feel anything much different at this early stage, possibly a bit less craving? But i'm not sure if that's be cuz i now have a temporary "license" to drink?
BTW, my drug of choice is mostly wine.

Spygirl, I'd like to say Hi and offer you a warm welcome to the forum. We have a mix of people from all over, some from the UK, Europe, US, Canada, Australia, even the occasional person from South Africa. You're in good company, in any case!

Pushing back on the addiction is good form and even waiting till you have a genuine craving before you take the pill. It's best to match up the craving, the pill, then the hour's wait followed by taking the first drink slowly. Only one drink is needed for the process, so on subsequent drinks (if you really want them, otherwise quit for the night), drink them slowly too. You can even go as far as leaving the drink in another room, so you have a bit of a pause as you get up to go for another sip. Keep a NA drink close to you and the glass of wine out of reach and out of sight.

Most of us are of two minds about drinking and we want to give the side that votes "no" plenty of chance to gain a voice, even if the side that votes "yes" is much louder for the moment. Aside from the craving, there's plenty that's habitual about drinking, so break up the habit, throw in pauses and see what shows up. Nal will be working to quiet down the "yes, MOAR" side while you're reacquainting yourself and getting friendly with the part of the brain that isn't so taken with drinking, the part that might like to stop after a glass or two, the part that says "I would feel good in the morning if I stopped here, that's a feeling I want." It's not supposed to have any great effect right away, this is only so you become more aware of the two factions and how they feel inside you.

I'd suggest starting a drinking diary or log if you haven't already, it can be a very good tool indeed and it engages the conscious part of the brain. You can use something like Alcodroid or this spreadsheet/graph combo:

http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/ ... graph-tool

Again, welcome and thanks for sharing your journey with us. We look forward to hearing from you again!

Hi Spy,

Welcome to this board. I am pretty new to this too and don't have a lot of advice but I am in the US as well and I wanted to welcome you. Joe has been very helpful and responsive and is a great resource.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you Joe, i appreciate your advice and guidance, particularly the part about giving the "other" part of my brain a chance. I'm not there yet, but definitely something to work on.

Keep letting us know how it's going for you, SpyGirl.