I was just talking about this last night with a friend who pops in and out of recovery. Alcohol messes with your personality and makes you believe things that don't make any sense, like you need to drink all the time. After enough sober time I found that many of these beliefs fell away. My perspective improved. Like Freshstart57, I found that I didn't need a replacement for my alcohol, I was done banging my head against a wall. While all this has certainly improved my life it is still sad to watch friends slowly drink themselves to death...