The withdrawals symptoms lasted a week for me, then it was a lot easier. The first three to six months I was quite unstable emotionally, and had obsessional thinking (see the Big Book)- but I was functioning better, felt better. Now at 11 months people who haven't seen me for a while are surprised at how healthy I look and the weight loss (about 7kg) (OMG what did they think before).
There are no easy answers for how to live your life and who to tell. It is worth the effort to try to build and maintain a sober life.
I now regard where I am as early in my recovery- my life is growing not dying