Okay, so I have kind of a crazy theory that I haven't read anywhere else on this site. My theory is that you need to force some AF days for the extinction process to truly set in.

Reasons for this theory:
- I noticed a breakthrough in my cravings after I forced 4 AF days in a row.
- The reason for sleep is still a mystery, but many scientists think that one of the functions of sleep is to solidify learning and memories in the brain. During sleep the brain trims connections that are no longer used and reinforces those connections that we use often.
-alcohol interferes with normal sleep patterns and thus the learning (and unlearning) process.
-personally, I notice that when I'm actively drinking, I have a hard time remembering things from that time even if the memory was created while sober.
-it usually takes me 3-4 days after I stop drinking for my sleep to feel "normal" and restful again.

So since TSM is an unlearning process, it would work best if we could have true, restful sleep after a session of drinking on nal. I compare it to weight training. After you work out a muscle group, you have to give it a few days to heal and regrow. If you just continue working it out, without giving the muscle a chance to regrow, you won't make progress as quickly as if you rested in between.

Its possible. I healthier brain would shed unneeded brain connections quicker than a sick brain. Think of babies, they have twice the neurons of an adult- they shed the neurons they don't need.

I have read numerous people discuss forcing AF days and from my experience it does help. Just figuring out you can do it in the first place is refreshing. Then it just kind of builds on itself.

At least that's how it feels for me and it seems based on what I have seen others post, its working fairly quickly for me.

1 month in so far, forcing AF days when I can. Caveat that with I just took my naltrexone for today and heading out to get a bottle of wine. I don't have the will power to do it tonight.

I like the idea, hypothesis of working on a few consecutive AF days each week. Today I'm working on my second AF day, though this 5 pm hour and having driven home a while ago "suggested" that I might stop and buy just one little bottle (you know the ones that come in 4-packs). But then, I'd have to take my Nal and wait and hour, and I figured that if I kept myself busy, the notion would pass, and it has!

I don't plan to "force" too many yet, as I sense that the extinction process is working. I'm in week 18.

Thanks for your NOT crazy idea!

My counselor had an interesting thing to say to me when I talked about forcing myself not to drink while doing to the sinclair method, he said "just because it takes 3 months for you to get the most effect doesn't mean you have to drink as much as possible for the next three months."

For me at least the, the extinction effect is happening, and the AF days are getting easier over time.

I think there may be something to your theory Tambo, it seems to make sense. When I drink I have very disturbed sleep e.g. sleep walking, talking, nightmares. When I have run of AF days my sleep is much more settled from the second day. I've also noticed a big sudden decline in my cravings since I have been able to have 2 or more AF days in sequence.

Tambo, I am not sure of the specifics of your sleep theory, but I think there might be something to the idea that having AF days -- especially if you are a daily drinker -- speeds up the process. I can't say why, but it feels that way to me, almost like going AF consolidates the gains. I have no idea why.

Do you have a link or can you direct me to where this subject has been discussed on these boards before? I seem to remember reading something about this subject here also.

For daily type drinkers, I highly recommend adding the occasional AF day even if "forced" to see if that helps you to drink less on your drinking days or makes subsequent AF days easier or even spontaneous.

Hey Merlot,

I haven't really read any other threads about this on this forum. This is just a theory I made up based on my own experiences. Also, having one or two AF days in a row didn't do much for me. It wasn't until I forced 4 in a row that I noticed a breakthrough. Like you said, it definitely feels like it "consolidates" the gains. When I started drinking again, I definitely noticed that I had more control and that my cravings were less intense.

I was thinking maybe some of the members who are daily drinkers that are finding that they've hit a plateau in their progress, maybe they should trying forcing maybe 3 or 4 AF days in a row and see if that makes a difference.

It sounds logical. One of the best ways to break a habit is to abstain from it for a while, and I'd say that overdrinking is certainly a bad habit. I'm not sure about the sleep aspect, but when I drink, even if it's just one or two, my heart starts pounding in my chest and it'll wake me up every time. That's yet another reason why I hope TSM works for me. So far things are going pretty well; I'm not drinking every night any more and can go two or three days at a time with no Al.

Some else mentioned that it was nice not to always be the drunk any more, and I can really relate to that. Few of my friends here in North Carolina drink - far fewer than the ones in Florida did; up here I was often the only blotto person at a party or dinner. These days, even if I overdrink, it doesn't seem to affect me as it used to and I'm able to function much better. But more and more, I'm not even drinking that much. It's a huge relief, because I didn't think I'd ever be able to stop being that person.

Haven't been on the board in a long time but am currently reading a book that gives support to the power of 4 days to start / break habits and the power of reinforcement.

I think it was fate that I decided to come to the board and saw this topic. It was just what I needed to try and force the 4 days. Today is Day 3 (morning) but I'm counting it as Day 2 since I was hungover on Day 1

Have almost given up on TSM after being on it for a year and a half, just got frustrated even though improved. I am considering the 4 day thing almost a last ditch effort. I've read that stringing 5 4-day sessions together establish a true habit. So the plan is to try and string the 4 days together during the week. I think the key may be 4 consecutive days since I've tried 4 non-consecutive days a week and nothing really stuck. Just my experience.

I am so sick of fighting this battle.

Virginia