SC's story...Reader's Digest version

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

nancy;1191739 wrote: I enjoyed reading your story Supercrew. You seem like a real individual. Appreciate your honesty and intelligence.

I thought what you and others said about hypnosis was interesting. I just started hypnotherapy with a professional. MWO has hypnosis CDs and they did not work for me. I think it's because hypotherapy needs to be angled at the individual, in terms of what words, themes, images work for them. Hypnotherapy is fascinating and with a live person is very different. I encourage people who think it would work for them to try it at least.

Good luck but it sounds like you know what you are doing.

Thanks Nancy! Hypnosis is a "strange animal" so to speak. Some people are highly suggestable to some things and not so much to others. I was always uncertain of whether it was effective, until I had a coach hypnotise me, and then when I hypnotised other people and saw that I was able to get results. That being said, I was hypnotising myself for over 10 years and never really realized what I was doing was hypnosis. What I have found is that it is not a "presto..you are cured" type of thing. It does take some work, although I have seen fears and phobias get completely taken care of in a half an hour, addiction issues are a little tougher to get rid of in most cases. I think alcohol addiction has to be attacked on a couple of different levels. Not only do you have to fix the subconscious mind, you have to take daily actions, then most people need to find ways to fill the time where they used to drink...aside from diet, exercise and support.

[Unwasted]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

SC, just ordered a self-hypnosis book. Will report back as I get more into it. Thanks for the recommendation and explanation.

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

That's awesome UW, I look forward to hearing how it works for you. I have always been somewhat of a skeptic by nature, but the more things I see I am able to accomplish by focusing my mind the more of a believer I have become.

For me at least, if I focus enough on something on a daily basis, whether it be a goal or some type of outcome...or even a mood, I get what I focus on. For the last 9 months I have choosen to focus on sobriety, self improvement, and happiness....and if I'm not mistaken, I am sober, better than I was, and happy. Sometimes it just seems too simple, but sometimes the best solutions are the most simple. And for what it is worth, hypnosis and NLP techniques are not hard to master, they just take some practice.

[Unwasted]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

SC, even in a worst-case-scenario where one really still wanted to drink, it seems a lot easier to be happy sober. The struggle to control alcohol - always thinking of if/when we can drink, how much, if we'll be able to stop when we should, recovering from hangovers --it's such a chore. And, that doesn't even touch the health issues we might be creating for ourselves that we can't see. And, I believe the longer we're sober the better it gets, so I think it's definitely worth the effort even if it seems difficult to some at the beginning. Being joyful that we're free from the bondage of alcohol seems where it's at to me! The good that we perceive from alcohol is an illusion if we're really honest about it (especially if we've been drinking for a long time).

My two cents

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

Anyone who is willing to live by your two cents will soon realize that it's worth a fortune.

[SebD6]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

Visualisations are so powerful. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and in a sense NLP ( which are similar in terms of rewiring the bran to think differently ) are powerful tools. Ha, I know theory, bit practical application of things is a lit of discipline and devotion. I dare to say that predominant number of alcoholics are thought related cravings. So body does not need it, but brain generates the substance desire through thinking and cognitive trigger that deprives us of pleasure ( in spite of having one while not drinking for few days) and getting sudden boost in cravings that occur through linkage between alcohol intake and pleasure.

Pain and pleasure. The most known oppositions, and through your imagination by crating urine an sick feeling can sever the connection between like and dislike in yor brain.

A lot of people dismiss that and think that medication is only solution, also dismissing of being negative about therapy.

I would give a simple task. For one day, for one bright and ordinary day, I would ask someone to think that every alcohol there is is a poison and kills your internal organs. With massive visualisations of destruction and pain related to the damage to your body.

The feeling of cells being destroyed, shattered and you being eaten away every time you drink. For one day.

It's all about a focus and in a sense having OCD with this one thought for one day.

It is a starting point in rewiring your brain.

Urine and sickness mentioned above are simply alternative options to the same method.

This is something that can help millions, not cure, but be a monitorable point where cravings are diverted to the other side of us.

It works, with other approaches this can make miracles.......Discipline and at the same time easiness of doing so. At the end of the day it's just like......Do not think about a pink elephant, please.......What do you do, you think about pink elephant.......but you have to get onto obsession level to keep thinking about it until you linkage between pleasure and self created cognitively pain makes its own highway and not just a little forest path that can be easily overgrown.

Amazingly this can be applied to every moment of your life and you can even make your errands and then realize, 'Oh I forgot about something , of yes, alcohol is a poison that destroys my cells, stay away from it'.

It's a tool, one of many, but it requires repetition, repetition and reinforcement. It may make you feel sick physically, but it will be different way than a craving for booze....it will be a healthy sick feeling......

Hope that will give some guidance to some who cannot or find it difficult to go through multiple processes of quitting and layers of attempts......I't an easy rescue pattern and combined with other methods will do magic.

[SebD6]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

Visualisations are so powerful. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and in a sense NLP ( which are similar in terms of rewiring the bran to think differently ) are powerful tools. Ha, I know theory, bit practical application of things is a lit of discipline and devotion. I dare to say that predominant number of alcoholics are thought related cravings. So body does not need it, but brain generates the substance desire through thinking and cognitive trigger that deprives us of pleasure ( in spite of having one while not drinking for few days) and getting sudden boost in cravings that occur through linkage between alcohol intake and pleasure.

Pain and pleasure. The most known oppositions, and through your imagination by crating urine an sick feeling can sever the connection between like and dislike in yor brain.

A lot of people dismiss that and think that medication is only solution, also dismissing of being negative about therapy.

I would give a simple task. For one day, for one bright and ordinary day, I would ask someone to think that every alcohol there is is a poison and kills your internal organs. With massive visualisations of destruction and pain related to the damage to your body.

The feeling of cells being destroyed, shattered and you being eaten away every time you drink. For one day.

It's all about a focus and in a sense having OCD with this one thought for one day.

It is a starting point in rewiring your brain.

Urine and sickness mentioned above are simply alternative options to the same method.

This is something that can help millions, not cure, but be a monitorable point where cravings are diverted to the other side of us.

It works, with other approaches this can make miracles.......Discipline and at the same time easiness of doing so. At the end of the day it's just like......Do not think about a pink elephant, please.......What do you do, you think about pink elephant.......but you have to get onto obsession level to keep thinking about it until you linkage between pleasure and self created cognitively pain makes its own highway and not just a little forest path that can be easily overgrown.

Amazingly this can be applied to every moment of your life and you can even make your errands and then realize, 'Oh I forgot about something , of yes, alcohol is a poison that destroys my cells, stay away from it'.

It's a tool, one of many, but it requires repetition, repetition and reinforcement. It may make you feel sick physically, but it will be different way than a craving for booze....it will be a healthy sick feeling......

Hope that will give some guidance to some who cannot or find it difficult to go through multiple processes of quitting and layers of attempts......I't an easy rescue pattern and combined with other methods will do magic.

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

Great post SebD6, and thank you for explaining a proven method that I luckily discovered on my own. When you said "it can help millions, not cure", I think you are right on the money. For some reason alcohol affects me differently than most normal drinkers. A couple of drinks seems to release chemicals in my brain that scream for more. Once I start drinking I don't have an off switch. I have been this way since my first drink at 15, and it progressively got worse through the years. My only option to control my drinking for any extended amount of time is to not drink at all. It took me 27 years to figure it out. I can not "cure" my brains chemical issues with alcohol, but I can take measures to keep it from happening over and over by not drinking at all.

Thanks again!

[Turnagain]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

Thank you for sharing your story Supercrew....it has inspired hope and a thoughtful, information packed thread.

Like you, I have done a lot of reading about sobriety. The one line that popped me on the nose from the MWO book is....

"You can't turn a pickle back into a cucumber."

That's how I envision the difference between those who can drink 'normally' and those of us who cannot.

I am pickled.

I accept that now and as long as I stay out of the pickling juice, I can have a healthy, happy life. I love being AF.

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

Turnagain;1199006 wrote: Thank you for sharing your story Supercrew....it has inspired hope and a thoughtful, information packed thread.

Like you, I have done a lot of reading about sobriety. The one line that popped me on the nose from the MWO book is....

"You can't turn a pickle back into a cucumber."

That's how I envision the difference between those who can drink 'normally' and those of us who cannot.

I am pickled.

I accept that now and as long as I stay out of the pickling juice, I can have a healthy, happy life. I love being AF.

Thank you for the kind comments TA!

I found that I was always a guy who wanted to be pickled for a long time. The terrible realization came when I finally over pickled myself so bad that I couldn't safely have even a drink or two because I think I might die if I ever had to detox again.

At some point I crossed a line that made it so I can't physically handle any amount of booze because it progressed even without drinking.

Finally just being a non-drinker made sense....and truthfully I probably drank enough the last 27 years for 3 or 4 lifetimes. I got my fill.

[fluff]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

This is one of the most positive and helpful threads that I've read-thanks, SC!

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

My pleasure Fluff, glad I could help!

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

700 days since I started the sobriety journey........ bump!

[daisy45]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

and what journey you've had! Love reading everything you post Supercrew....well done!

[Supercrew]

SC's story...Reader's Digest version

Thank you!!