Hi Brooke,
My biggest goal in finding this program was to become a “normal drinker”. As I delved into the program and doing the HW etc..I started to tackle this problem by just listening thru to the videos on over drinking, but just using models and creating a drinking plan for myself. I thought this would be a good start. I always take everything too fast and then set myself up for failure. Anyway, I am practicing sitting with the “urges” and my drinking plan was not to drink M-Th and allow myself to drink on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Also, last week was my first week in scholars. The plan worked for me though I wasn’t put into any circumstances to really having to practice the urges (which I did want to start practicing even though I was not doing the whole drinking plan.) This week I know I will because my parents who live with me are home from vacation and they drink their one drink daily. So practicing the “urge” thing will be possible. Normally, I would think “Stay out of there end of the house”. But, I’m going to purposely go in and sit with them like I always do without drinking and practice. My question is that my plan worked for my first week with some quilt over how much I drank over the weekend (which I wrote models on and concluded to feel accomplished and to I stick to my plan and not overthink the weekend drinking.) I told myself to think more about the over drinking as the weekend gets closer. What led me to this plan and program is that for years I struggle with drinking everyday and too much and the thoughts and the whole vicious cycle. I’ve down the AA thing on and off and have had success but I know its just not for me. I can’t buy into those steps with exception of the serenity prayer. I’ve tried and tried. So when I found this program I thought maybe there is another way to control my drinking. But…I noticed in another client’s question that in your over drinking plan that if your pattern was to drink every night you should stick to that and not do the M-Th or FR thing like I did this past week with success. What should I do? I am definitely going to do your whole drinking plan at some point. But my thinking was as I started the regular monthly program that “see what I can do about the over drinking using baby steps and just apply the “program” to my drinking. My pattern is to dive in head first with everything and I was afraid if I did that with immediately doing the over drinking plan in scholars I might set myself for failure. So baby steps is new for me. I am going to watch the webinar today on over drinking but was also going to stick to the plan I used last week with success. I’m trying to purposely take it all slow which is foreign for me. What do you think about how I’m approaching this?
Thanks so much