The compulsion to drink was gone for me in the first year.
I think the main reason I craved a drink was because I wasn't comfortable in my own skin.
Quitting drinking is the easy part, learning to live sober and be comfortable in my own skin has taken a while.
There appears to be 2 general sorts of people who abuse alcohol, the problem heavy drinker (A) and the alcoholic (B) as described in AA's "The Doctor's Opinion". Telling them apart is readily apparent ........
A) When the alcohol is taken away from the heavy drinker, the problem goes away.
B) When the alcohol is taken away from the Alcoholic, the problem just begins.
Know which one you are and your course of treatment becomes apparent as well (IMHO)
All the best.
Bob R