hello 1st,
i was an alone-at-home drinker, mostly, and very ashamed and secretive. the shame was the first thing to lift after i got sober. within a few weeks, i noticed i was literally holding my head higher and actually looking people in the eyes more and smiling more. it was very noticeable to myself.
my best real-life sober pal has 13 years sobriety and did the first six on-line.
so yeah, it can be done. i did make myself go to a secular meeting just because i needed to make myself do that just once, to acknowledge to myself and others publicly what was so difficult to acknowledge then, and there i met enough good people so that i went back for many more times
let us know how you're doing.