Septemberlass:
Like you, I never had hangovers, blackouts, never ended up in jail, etc. I did recognize that I had a drinking problem, but did not fully understand how little alcohol it can take to damage the body. I drank 3 to 5 drinks a day and it appears that this may have caused brain damage. Parts of my brain have atrophied and I have numerous lesions on my brain; some brain tissue may regenerate in time, but the damage done by the lesions is probably permanent.
You say that you've never gotten to the 6 month chip. The road to recovery is a long one and I do not have expectations of a complete turn around in my life before six months. Getting sober and letting the body recover is one thing; I expect that building a new life and outlook is something that will take time and effort, with a lot of rough patches along the way as I come to terms with my past.
I'm a firm believer that happiness comes from within. It sure wasn't in a bottle.