The cravings have become less and less, so much so rhat it's hard to even pinpoint one and week 10 has ended without any desire to drink for the past 8 days.
I can attribute much of my recent success with keeping my thirst quenched throughout the day. Keeping a bottle of soda water (and a tasty sugar-free cordial) by my side while I work coupled with the insight I have gained over the last 10 weeks regarding the "habit" hidden underneath the addiction. ...that robotic ritual of automatically pouring a drink to signal the end of the day and the start of the evening - the time of day when my thoughts turn to preparing the family meal.
I refer to the timing of the underlying habit of mine as my "trigger point".
With the aid of Naltexone and TSM (the Sinclair Method), my brain is being retrained to learn that there is no reward gained and as a result of this water is just as "rewarding" as a glass of wine (and with some of the wines I've drunk, tastier too!).
Where does this lack of cravings lead me?
I didn't set out on the path of de-addiction to abstain but only to cut down to the safe level of drinking. The last 8 days of being alcohol free have been happy and productive. Not having the Naltrexone in my system has enabled me to reward my brain with those much sort after endorphins via other means...
On the weekend, I went for an exhilerating two and a half hour bike ride with my 10 year old boy and a friend of his and with every fast decent I found myself laughing and smiling. ..."ah, so this is what an endorphin rush feels like". Vastly different to the endorphin rush lazily received when drinking other than that initial "ah, I needed that" after the first few sips.
No, I'm not going to be abstinent.
Socially, I have no problem in taking my Naltrexone before meeting up with friends where alcohol will be served. Why? Our culture is suspicious of non-drinkers. If someone states, "No, I'm not drinking tonight", we can't help but wonder why if no reason is given.
What I am going to do is to revel in non-alcohol related activities which make me feel happy and reward my brain with endorphins.
My remarkable achievement has been possible because of the Sinclair Method and the wonderful peer support at Options Save Lives forum.
I refer to the timing of the underlying habit of mine as my "trigger point".
With the aid of Naltexone and TSM (the Sinclair Method), my brain is being retrained to learn that there is no reward gained and as a result of this water is just as "rewarding" as a glass of wine (and with some of the wines I've drunk, tastier too!).
Where does this lack of cravings lead me?
I didn't set out on the path of de-addiction to abstain but only to cut down to the safe level of drinking. The last 8 days of being alcohol free have been happy and productive. Not having the Naltrexone in my system has enabled me to reward my brain with those much sort after endorphins via other means...
On the weekend, I went for an exhilerating two and a half hour bike ride with my 10 year old boy and a friend of his and with every fast decent I found myself laughing and smiling. ..."ah, so this is what an endorphin rush feels like". Vastly different to the endorphin rush lazily received when drinking other than that initial "ah, I needed that" after the first few sips.
No, I'm not going to be abstinent.
Socially, I have no problem in taking my Naltrexone before meeting up with friends where alcohol will be served. Why? Our culture is suspicious of non-drinkers. If someone states, "No, I'm not drinking tonight", we can't help but wonder why if no reason is given.
What I am going to do is to revel in non-alcohol related activities which make me feel happy and reward my brain with endorphins.
My remarkable achievement has been possible because of the Sinclair Method and the wonderful peer support at Options Save Lives forum.
Wonderful!
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