Welcome, mentor.
In 2011 I stopped drinking all at once after 8-12 beers/day for several years. After 12 hours I was in alcoholic hallucinosis entailing visual and audio hallucinations--spiders and ants crawling up the walls, demons, people breaking into my house, owls flying around....also bright flashing lights as if someone was shining a flashlight in my eyes. I know the terror of going from normal directly into hell.
I could never taper and needed help to quit; ultimately I went into detox and then rehab. I hope you consult a medical professional. There are drugs to make the withdrawal more bearable. I wish you all the best. It's rough-but you can do this.