Here's an excerpt from my story - to set the scene, I was at work when my detox started.
Around 2:00 in the afternoon I started to detox. I was lucky no one was in the bathroom any of the times I threw up, and I made sure I used one certain stall that had a lid on it that would block the automatic flush sensor so that the toilet would not flush in my face. As I stared in the bowl heaving, one thought popped into my head. "This is no way to live. This is a way to die." I went to the sink to wash my hands and saw the hag in the mirror I had become. My eyes were bloodshot from barfing. I had bags under my eyes the size of a suitcase. My skin was grey. I looked about 20 years older than I really am.
It was that moment when I was examining myself in the mirror that I finally saw the person I was becoming. I finally felt the shame of showing up at work hungover one too many times. I finally felt the fear of losing my job, my house, my life. I finally acknowledged I had a problem and that if I did not fix it fast, I was on a slippery slope downward into an abyss.
That's pretty much what got me to initially quit drinking. What keeps me from relapsing is doing a lot of self examination and introspection. I also focus on the positive things that have resulted from my quitting drinking. My life is far from perfect, but it is a heck of a lot better sober than it ever was when I was drinking.