Well, it's been a while since I posted. Am I running out of things to say? No, not exactly. I've just had my attention on other things. It's amazing how quickly our attention turns to our real lives when we're recovered instead of just "in recovery."
Still, I continue to think about some things. I read the forum and Naltrexone Confidential. I recently noticed a post on NC which lists nine steps to success.
None of these ideas are bad ideas, but it's really not as complicated as that makes it sound. It's dead simple, in fact. You don't have to buy the book. You don't need a fob on your keychain. You don't have to go jogging on days when you don't drink. You're certainly free to do any or all of those things, but it isn't necessary.
The only thing you must do to succeed is to take a large-enough dose of naltrexone or nalmefene one hour before drinking alcohol. That's it. That's the extent of the grand plan.
The drink diary is useful for some people, so that they can see the numbers dropping even if their progress is relatively slow. For others, it's a hassle which puts far too much emphasis on alcohol. It's probably a good idea to note your pre-TSM consumption and to check in with the numbers occasionally, but you don't necessarily have to write in a drink diary every day.
These extraneous steps may be useful in that they raise the barrier to entry. People who just drink too much, who aren't really addicted, may be turned off by the work which seems required. That's probably a good thing, but why are these people coming to TSM in the first place?
I think the answer is the "You can still drink!" line. People get the impression, largely from the book, that naltrexone is a "normality pill" and that they will become normal, non-addicted drinkers. Because it is so very easy to take a pill before drinking, lots of people try TSM who aren't really good candidates for it. When they realize that they won't get a buzz any more, they eliminate the buzz blocker.
Essentially, it's too easy. People who don't need it try it, and they bail out because it's working too well.
