I gave myself 6 months or so. My husband cleared out all the alcohol from home, and I didn't put myself in situations with alcohol unless absolutely necessary.
I am not in AA but there is a good saying "half measures availed us nothing". I built my life up gradually around drinking, there really wasn't a plan or a deliberateness about it. There sorta had to be a deliberateness about the disengagement though. Someone here posted the idea of "acting our way into thinking". That really resonated with me. I spent so many drunken nights writing lists of things I wanted to do…only to fall flat on the execution. I realized I could sit around forever and think about getting sober but it was in the acting that a new mindset would arise.
I spent a lot of time on here, told family and friends whom I trusted, and distanced myself from situations that I felt would cause me to feel like I was missing something. As I started to get more comfortable in my new skin, I felt more and more comfortable expanding my boundaries.
My life will never be the same as it was when I was drinking. But my life would not have stayed still if I had continued drinking, it would have deteriorated. Best case would have meant maintaining a status quo which was a flat numbness. But in reality that flat numbness would have given way to absolute misery. I think the negative consequences begin to accelerate the longer we stay active in our addiction.
We all have different aspects to our lives..it is what we choose to give our attention and focus to that help define us. For me, sobriety meant shifting my focus to pieces of my life I had neglected.
I also realized that by running to the bottle to solve everything I had strengthened the part of my brain that sought immediate gratification. That part took work, and still does. It gets easier, but I have to be very conscious of how often I am looking for the softer, easier way even when it isn't in my best interest.
I used to get annoyed when people talked about how central sobriety was to their lives. I get that now. But it becomes part of the fabric of who you are. It is like breathing, it is crucial and central, but we are usually not focused on it. It sustains us, but none of us take it for granted.
I have no regrets about distancing myself from alcohol at the outset. I know without a doubt it was one of the most important reasons I became increasingly comfortable with sobriety. Congrats on your week!!!