Should quitting alcohol be so different from quitting smoking?
Over 7 years ago, I quit smoking. It took many attempts, but finally I did it. One day without smoking turned into 2 days,then 2 weeks, then two months...and finally permanently. I had made the decision not to smoke, struggled through about 3 months to form a new habit, had a few urges the rest of the year, and then never really thought about it again. Why would quitting alcohol be any different for me or anyone?
Is all the time I spend investigating recovery alternatives, reading articles and books, and posting and reading on forums simply making it more difficult than it needs to be? Am I building alcoholism into a giant monster that will be difficult to defeat and require long-term (life-long) vigilance and struggle?
How much effort do the successfully sober people on the secular forum put into achieving and maintaining sobriety? How has this changed over time?