Hi Nigel
There's a lot of good advice here
I really tried to live my old life - but just not drink.
I 'roadtested my sobriety' too - what I really was doing was putting myself in dangerous situations with no thought of how I was going to cope, or how I was going to stay sober.
I ended up two ways - drunk because I gave in and joined the gang...or miserable cos I didn't...which usually led to back to option number one anyway.
I think learning to live sober is like any other skill - it takes time to develop.
You don't start lifting your own body weight in weight training, or immediately running a marathon...
Believe me there will be a time ahead when you go anywhere and do anything - but that time is not now...you need to work out your priorities - how much do you want to stay sober?
You need more than hope in this situation, I think...
If you want to stay sober that means changes and a little thought effort & patience...but isn't your future worth that Nigel?
D