Let's talk about sleep...
Sleep.
My biggest fear, BY FAR, when I thought about stopping drinking for good, was not being able to sleep. Simply put, since I had drank to blackout most nights for years, I thought I couldn't sleep without alcohol. And I was really, really tired. Of everything.
It was a really hard transition, and only lots of late-night SR reading (and the decision to believe all of you who said it would be okay in time) got me through. Night sweats, broken sleep, headaches, anxiety for a long time. But I trusted that it would be okay if I let my body re-program itself... and it really is okay. It's better than okay by a long shot.
Fast-forward to now. It's been over eight months since my last drink, and I am sleeping beautifully. I literally think about sleep like I used to think about my first drink-- as in something I crave and look forward to after a long day. I crawl into bed, feel the comfort of my sheets and blankets, and stretch out like a lazy cat. I read a bit, then let my thoughts drift, and then I sleep, sleep, sleep. I wake up in the mornings refreshed and happy and grateful.
Infinitely better than black-out "sleep"--which, of course, isn't sleep at all.