17 MONTHS is hardly long term sobriety. But I think on this...
Because of a very badly smashed up shoulder requiring surgery- my arm was in a fibreglass sling. I chose booze over healing, so in a blackout, a ciggie in my mouth (they assume) fell into the sling- fire, molten - 4th degree burns to 20% of my body. That was not the medical staff's major concern- even tho I died on the slab 3 times. My cognitive performance post- burns made them realise I had Korsakoff's. Irreversible they knew. Well it was not- it was shock, and elephant strength surgical and pain drugs, mixed with shock..blah.
But on entering into the very serious recovery program I am in (1 year now), they were not even concerned about the cognitive or the burns- they thought my problems arose from very deep, buried psycholomologiccal reasons going back to (yep=you know it) childhood.-C-PTSD
So with professional guidance and a great deal of very hard work, using CBT-I am beginning to understand the reason why I drank. Which means I can change how I think and feel and act. Until now- not one craving or temptation to drink.