My experience was that I spent about 3 months really struggling with the issue of never being able to drink again. When I let that go, and conceded that I was an alkie and drinking wasn't an option, it was like a weight was lifted. Then I was able to work on recovery and learn how to cope with life sober.
I have found that some things in life no longer interest me. If I look closely I enjoyed those things because I associated them with drinking. I only did them because they encouraged, allowed, or promoted alcohol use. The things that I did because I deep down enjoyed them are enhanced by the absence of alcohol.
If I just removed alcohol I still had issues to work on and in order to do that I had to embrace change.
Best wishes.