Progress thread for ne

[coalfire]

Progress thread for ne

This might interest you.http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/con...2/145.full.pdf

[Ne/Neva Eva]

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[Guest]

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This has been my belief for a long, long time NE. Baclofen has removed my cravings, but it hasn't removed the self-destruct-anger-turning-I-don't-care-so-I'll-get-out-of-it stuff. I've had to use a few tools over the last few days to remain AF, had to remember how bad I felt when I did drink, step back, get things into perspective. All that sort of stuff, and I'm still continuing to see my counsellor. It was mighty tempting to stop seeing her once I started to feel better, but I'm still learning about things that came up for me last year. Stuff I didn't deal with because at the time I wasn't aware enough to work out what was really going on for me.

I know all of this is pretty important stuff, since it could over-ride the baclofen. Not out of sheer cravings, but out of the sheer hell of it. The other sneaky bit is when you have the "It's ok I can drink on Baclofen, I won't get addicted" thoughts. You might well not, however I know how sh1t I feel when I drink, how much it lays me up for the following 24 hours, the depression too. It's just not worth all of that happening - and that is a tool to use alongside the Baclofen. It's also why I believe trialling on rats isn't necessarily 100% proof, since rats don't have our higher level of reasoning - or should I say 'unreasoning'. I understand that most animals operate on learned behaviour and instinct, they usually aren't able to reason or go against this. I would therefore imagine they don't have all this arguiing stuff going on in their heads, the "Should I, shouldn't I?" conversation.

So far in my experience Baclofen removes the cravings, slows down your thoughts/removes anxiety so you can work through things better and more logically. This isn't necessarily enough to keep everyone off the sauce!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

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[tiptronic_ct]

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I like what I'm seeing, NE.

Reality struck me hard when I hit 30 days sober... I was effortlessly alcohol-free, but the underlying shit was still there. A year of intensive psychotherapy helped get my head sorted out and set me on a path I'm (mostly) comfortable with.

And if you think having success with bac is tough, wait till you find a good therapist...

[Ne/Neva Eva]

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[Ne/Neva Eva]

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[tiptronic_ct]

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Ne/Neva Eva;1077076 wrote: Tip, how did you find your therapist?

I initially went to see a psychiatrist who put me on ADs and some other stuff (very long story...). I didn't click with him at all, but we talked about different kinds of therapy and discussed a few therapists he knew about. I guess I got lucky - the one I decided on is an incredible woman...

There are unfortunately plenty of horror stories about shrinks. The best advice I can give you is to keep on trying until you find one you can work with constructively. Any therapist who only listens and asks you what you feel about something should be lined up in front of a firing squad, IMHO.

It is also hugely important that you are fully committed to the process. No time for BS. It really isn't easy. It hurts like hell at certain points. Or at least, it did for me. But like bac SEs, the shit goes away as you progress.

[Guest]

Progress thread for ne

I go with what Tip says on this too. I've tried all sorts of therapists, counsellors etc over the years for different things. A lot of people rely on the NHS over here, and it makes them quite restricted. I find seeing someone privately gives me a lot more scope. I'd been looking for one for quite a while when I found my current counsellor. Only costs me ?35 for 1 hour, compared to the cost of drinking that's nothing.

So yes shop around, but be prepared to speak about some very painful stuff. Some only go for a couple of appointments because they don't want to share, but that's the whole point. I remember you posted about going to the church a while back, being told to share something and it threw you completely. Well that's what you'll have to do, it's not comfortable but remember whoever you see, they aren't there to judge you. They are in your employ to help you.

[missyabby1]

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Hi Karen,

So good to read your post. I rang the Alcohol and Drug Service over here to access a counsellor. Not too sure what happens in the US. Funnily enough I was told a counsellor called Lee/Leigh would see me. Thinking it was going to be a female I felt ok with that. Turned out to be a bloke! Never been to a bloke cousellor before! Had conniptions when he/she came out and introduced himself. (As you know by my past post on HELP ASAP I have issues with men, plus doing Feminism Studies as a minor in my degree kept the old fires burning, you know, tyrant father, submissive mother etc etc etc!)

Anyway I digress. IMO he's a bit of a little upstart (:H) but doesn't muck around in illiciting unpleasant truths about my current lifestyle/partner/drinking etc.

I had my own private practice, years ago before I hit the sauce and bad company, and I used to separate my clients into the "yes..............BUT's} i.e. their response when gently suggesting a different way of doing things 87% and the ones who truly were ready and able to embrace ugly truths and wanted to change (13%). They were the ones who kept my heart full and my soul nourished whilst doing a very difficult job.

In my harrowing session today, very fragile and partly hungover......I was a half and half "yes but" and a deadly force in seeing some ugly truths. He did not let me off the hook. Goddamn it.

Find one like that!

:l

[Bruunhilde]

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I agree with this concept, and think I just posted something like that myself in the last two days. Bac alone won't do it, you have to make a decision too and use willpower. The back is a support, but it won't necessarily dictate your actions if they are deep seated and you don't have other distractions. I found that with Topa too - the cravings were dramatically reduced but the habit and the underlying shit was still there.

[redhead77]

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I've had a lot of therapy. And a lot of horrible therapists. I did find a really great one about two years ago. It was just by luck or chance. He has helped me immensely (I too didn't know if I could tell this man everything), but he promised me something and he has never failed. He said, I promise you, you can trust me, I will never do anything to ruin that. I think the fact that he was a man was healing for me. He immediately recognized how depressed I was and referred me on to a great psychiatrist. I lucked out again. I am seeing neither of these people at the moment. The traumatic events have quieted and I don't think they'll understand my bac journey. When I'm done, I will go back and preach the bac stuff to them. I just want to wait till it works.

Ne, when you start your therapy, you might find the opposite happens at first. You may want to go home and drink just because your rubbing scabs off of old wounds. It hurts like hell. We alkies have conditioned ourselves to avoid the pain with booze. Of course, being on bac will help tremendously and will hopefully give you want you need to avoid it. Therapy works better when you actually feel the work and don't drink to numb it all.

I know this is a day late, but I too have masses increases in drinking when I have pms. Always have since I've been a drinker. Sometimes I'm not even aware of it till I get my period and then I'm like, oh, that's what it was. I also think I might have PMDD. You'll see.:upset:

[Bruunhilde]

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Have you tried cognitive therapy? There's a great book called Feeling Good (forget the name of the famous author) which really helps you feel better and teaches you how to talk to yourself. Thoughts become actions etc.

I too want to find a good therapist and have no idea where to start; I would love to find someone like your guy, Red, because I too have issues with the men in my life and trusting a man would be good. I do trust men, just not my brothers and some friends' husbands. But I have a shakey background with being beaten up alot by my brother, and later as a teen attacked from cars by boys, by boys on bikes, as a sixteen YO I was mugged, almost date raped at 20, etc. Sorry to hijack Nev. I'll shut up now.

[Lo0p]

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I guess I'm just going to have to agree (with myself) to disagree with everybody.

:new:

If the minuscule amount of alcohol I drink bothered me at all, then it would be harder to swear off fried chicken for a month than alcohol forever. And I don't even eat fried chicken.

Also, after baclofen came and took my demon away, there wasn't anything left to "fix". Sure there's life, and there's always things to work on (and thankfully now I can). I suppose I could just be in denial as to how much of a head case I am though. Nah, I'm not in denial, I think I kind of embrace it. :H

[TracyA]

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You know, I've been to a lot of therapists, was very honest with them, and I cannot say that I ever got much out of it. But I'm weird. Revisiting old pain just wasn't conducive to anything for me. The cognitive stuff was the most helpful to me, but I got that for free in SMART.

This morning I was again offered "analysis" - the real McCoy. I declined because Freud was a cocaine-snorting, child-sexualizing freak job, but also because he was oblivious to himself. His stuff is not helpful. I did Jungian therapy once and had the wildest dreams - I kind of liked that part of it but, again, not terribly helpful. Next to the cognitive stuff, what was most helpful was grief counseling after going through serial deaths of immediate family members. Maybe that's why counseling is effective at the point that you put down the bottle - because it's a kind of grief for something lost?