Thank you for your story...hope you come back to hear replies.
I can only speak for me....I could stop drinking over and over...that was never a problem. What I could not do was stay stopped.
For me Putting the plug in the Jug was not enough. When you talked about Excersising it brought me to Chapter 3 in our Big Book, where it talks about all the things we did to stop and or control our drinking. Taking more excersise, reading inspirational books, swearing off, drinking only in the mornings, switching from hard liguoir to beer, taking a trip, not taking a trip, (suggest reading it yourself to get the correct wording)..it ends by saying "add infinitum"
I tried stopping for my husband, for the courts, and all the time I was sincere. Alcohol is only a symptom of underlying problems....
The only way I have ever been able to stop and stay stopped is through the program of AA one day at a time. If you be a alcoholic.....there will come the day when you will have no mental defense against that first drink again....We have a daily reprieve...without Uncovering, Discovering and Discarding the defects of character that keep us going back...most will never get rid of the obsession to drink. ...It returns during bad times, during good times, and the scariest when we do not even know why.
Our Big Book Of AA is a good place to start. I recommend reading it, also taking the questionaire. (If someone has it maybe they can give it to you)...then ask yourself if you identify. If so maybe AA is for you. Its a program for people that want it ...the cemetaries jails and instutions are full of people who need it.
Thanks for you honesty, hope to see you here often.