As most are going to say, you need to do whatever it takes to stay sober. I didn't go to AA, but I did a lot of reading here and other places and talked to people close to me.
I do think it is important to work to improve yourself and figure out why you needed to abuse alcohol. You say it was just because it made you feel good. While I agree it does that does explain why you abused it daily.
Just not drinking won't keep you from not drinking in the long run in my opinion.