I know there are parts of Eskapa's book that mention that will power is not necessary on TSM. The only major rule is that you always take NAL one hour before you drink. A secondary rule I would guess is to keep track of your daily/weekly units.

On the other hand, a lot of posters have mentioned -- and this applies I guess mainly to daily drinkers such as myself -- that they drink out of habit and not just physical addiction. It would seem to make sense, therefore, for such daily drinkers to over time add planned AF days to not only reduce their weekly units but also to break the psychological habit of daily drinking. This is especially true if adding the occasional AF day would not diminish or delay substantially the process of "pharmacological extinction" that underlies TSM.

So the question is does anyone believe that consciously planning AF days is inconsistent with TSM?

I don't and it is my intention to add at some point -- say in month 3 -- at least one day a week, say for example Wednesday, where I go AF. Over time, I will try to add more AF days. I will do so in an attempt to break the psychological habit and transition from the routine of daily drinking to occasional drinking days. I also want to be able to test how easy or difficult it is to have an AF day.

In order to plan for an alcohol free day I intend to A) make it a specific day, B) plan something to do that evening (work out, see a movie or attend a sports event or lecture, etc.) and C) attempt to limit my drinking a bit on the day before the planned AF day, which I believe will make the AF day a bit easier (i.e., taper down strategy).

Any thoughts on planning AF days as part of your TSM treatment strategy?

The Sinclair method is based on learning theory of extinction. It is perfectly reasonable to plan AF days. As you say, the only golden rule is to take Nal an hour before drinking. Everything else is a variation on a theme; find your own path cut out of your own individual life opportunities and desires. I have yet to try Nal........ soon.

Merlot you are introducing some good topics - keeps things going.

As for planned AF days I guess they would be ok IF one was far enough into the process. There would be no point in a very impatient newbie attempting this at week 3. And we know that some would do this in a frantic attempt to succeed.

In my case I just let it happen. All of a sudden I had an AF day, then another, then another almost before I realized it. This seems to me to be the better way.

But I guess at 6 months or so if this was not just happening, and ingrained habit, anxiety issues, or other psychological trauma was in play it might be good to plan for one. And you lay out a good scenario for that. I would be very interested to hear from others about how their first AF day happened.

Another thought on this: sometimes having AF days is not the best, first, marker for success. In my case the taste of the wine was not as good, I did not get a buzz but felt the booze in my body which was not such a nice feeling - but I would still pour the wine every night. It occured to me after a while "well this is not great, why am I still doing this?" That's when my first AF day happened.

I spose it's different when you are a "binger". AF days are really no big deal. We do them all the time. HOWEVER, I think in my case anyway, it's certain triggers. Be it a week-end just because it's a week-end, or on Vaca. whatever. I DO know what you're all saying as I was an ALMOST daily drinker for many yrs. Then I guess I couldn't physically do that anymore. So now, I feel habit comes into play quite often.
ALWAYS JANE

I never planned any AF days, but I waited for them, impatiently. What I did do was ask myself each evening, "I wonder if today might be AF?"

If the answer was "Nah" I took my Nal.

One day on the way home from a club meeting I was thinking about the timing of the Nal and asked myself and to my own surprise said "Bah, I could skip it" and so I did. I of course drank the *following* night, as a "reward" But it was a breakthrough moment.

I tend to frame it as not taking Effort (grunt, strain, white-knuckles) but for me, it took Thought. I participated in my cure, but I did not cause it. The Nal did.

i love your thinking PV. why make things into "chores" if they don't have to be? i'm so glad this strategy worked for you.
path

Thanks for the feedback.

There seems to be two schools of thought on this, although they are not necessarily opposed.

School 1: Let it happen naturally or effortlessly.

School 2: Add a bit of "will power" or planning.

However, the difference between 1 and 2 may not be that great. Certain people have the routine of drinking daily as a long-term, ingrained habit. In order to test whether TSM is working, a planned AF day may be useful.

I am firmly in the "add a bit of will power and planning" camp. One, there is nothing wrong with it. We use bits of will power daily in out lives. And I don't see how it can go against whatever naltrexone is doing.

I don't doubt that "just let it happen effortlessly" works for some people but I suspect that it is true only for a minority. And even that minority would not have been negatively affected by using some will power in the process. So for me planning is simply hedging my chances of success. It may or may not help but it won't hurt.

my thread here assembles some of the discussion re: effort:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1895

I've said it many times and I'll say it again: I don't claim to have all the answers, but NAL seems to reward a bit of effort. If you're over 2 months in and not pleased with your results, experiment with a bit of effort (whether that means planned AF days or stopping after X drinks).

That's a great thread Nemo. Also, the thread you link in your first post in that thread is informative.

I think we can fairly say that a modicum of effort to reduce the amount one drinks will not in any way diminish your chances of success using TSM. I think what NAL does at the very least is make it easier to make that effort.