r/SinclairMethod

I had been taking NAL for 2 years - initially starting every day and then doing the TSM with some level of success. I'm what you would call a daily drinker and NAL helped keep me from binging. I still had problems drinking every day but NAL helped keep the numbers down. Every once in a while I would skip a day of drinking but that was rare.

One day I decided to go abstinent for a while and have now not had a drink for 3 months (which is incredible and is due to NAL). I also haven't had NAL for 3 months.

I'm going to a function where I'm likely to have a drink and plan on taking NAL.

My question is whether those of you who have taken NAL after a long period of abstinence had any side effects?

Also abstinence was never my goal but Id rather be abstinent than slipping back into a daily habit so would it be better to just continue to avoid drinking or will I be able to find a new normal of a glass of wine or beer once or twice a month on select situations.

I’ve made a promise to myself that I will no longer drink to cope with big emotions. For me it’s most often anxiety I’ve tried to self-medicate away — but also anger, sadness, irritability.

Because I’m doing The Sinclair Method with success, I feel like I’d be doing myself a disservice if I have an actual craving and just try to white-knuckle through it — when it could be a good opportunity for another extinction session. I would not yet consider myself extinct.

I haven’t had a drink in 2 weeks because I’ve had zero desire to, and I don’t want to force extinction sessions just for the sake of it.

Tonight I feel super meh and my brain is saying “wine will help.” It’s not a big emotion — it’s a mix of boredom and apathy. And I’m trying to decide: is drinking in this state coping, or is it a craving? It feels nuanced and I’m genuinely curious what others think, especially fellow TSMers who can appreciate the value of an extinction session.