The Four Horsemen paid me a visit (Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration and Despair) and they brought with them the gift of desperation.
I reached the point that the BB talks about on pp 151-152:
"Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it. Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end."
I post that quote a lot because it explains so well exactly where I was at right before I "changed my mind". I reached the point where I had to reach out for help or dive head first into oblivion. One morning I woke up and had a rare moment of clarity (before my morning drink). I called the hospital where I receive all of my other medical care and made an appointment to see an addiction specialist, but the earliest they could see me was the following week.
So I took that appointment, hung up the phone, and had my morning drink. I continued my normal drinking routine (every waking hour) and even had 3 beers on the way to the appointment to steady my nerves. We decided on intensive OP rehab and he gave me some meds to treat my withdrawal symptoms. I walked out of his office and haven't had a drink since...just over a year now.
I don't think I so much chose but ran out of options as the only 2 I had left were sobriety and death.