what was it like for me.
I realised I had a problem years ago and tried many different ways of cutting down - all disastrous.
I toyed with the idea of AA, but in a way the thought of AA kept me drinking.
Eventually found this place and lurked and lurked and lurked some more.
Kept drinking, kept using 4 or 5 places to buy alcohol to shift it around a bit, kept being ashamed when I took the bottles to the bottle bank.
Shame and fear of being found out - those were the main emotions of my drinking life.
Finally made a decision and joined here and not long after took the plunge.
The first few days were weird - not feeling sick, more not together, in a bot of a trance, no energy, weird sleep patterns, ate loads of crap those days.
About a week in, I was the most emotional mess around, bursting into tears, completely unable to complete basic tasks and keep things together.
And then it started to get better. I stopped worrying about the wine aisle, I did more exercise, had more time for me and slept better.
The cravings reduced (at the start, I'd see a bottle of wine and actually start salivating) and now only come now and again.
Listening to people here helped me to realise that I wasn't alone, that pretty much everyone here understood and that I actually needed to think things through and plan my days an my interactions with alcohol if I was to have a choice.
Life is much better and I feel much more alive now than I did 60 odd days ago.