Before I quit I would panic when I was faced with situations where drinking would be difficult or impossible. I would feel a cold sensation of fear when I might not be able drink that day! Needless to say, the idea that I could go a week and simply not drink was alien; it like being told that I could sprout wings and fly if I wanted to.
It's almost impossible to describe how completely that can change, and even harder to explain how quickly it can happen. A couple years ago when I had to return to my old home town for my dad's funeral I had to carefully plan how I would get booze, how I'd manage to drink it and still be up early enough to do all the stuff that I needed to do and how I'd keep everyone from knowing I was drunk. At my dad's funeral! That's the story of someone who's life was completely ruled by alcohol. It's hard to believe that today I don't need the stuff to function.