newlyaddicted

Hi,
This is all new to me so don't know where else to turn for advice.
I had never been addicted to alcohol previously. I got drunk now and then but nothing extreme. After a stressful period, I went through a month of pretty heavy drinking, like regular blackouts etc. Because I don't get hangovers, I guess it's been easier for me to take drinking to extremes sometimes and not suffer ill effects. Anyway, after the month of straight drinking, I woke up one morning shaking. Didn't think too much of it, but it got gradually worse and worse until I was going through a pretty severe bout of withdrawals. Shaking, could barely use my hands to grip anything, waking up with saturated sheets, really high blood pressure and pulse, among other things. I thought I was going to die and could barely get out of bed or move for a week, but got gradually better. My question is, what now? Am I an alcoholic now or what? Can I go back to drinking socially again, or in moderation without going through withdrawals? I just want to go back to being normal before all this started. Is it possible? Has anyone on here developed physical dependence to alcohol as a "one off" episode after a period of excessive drinking and then gone back to normal afterwards? Or is physical dependence for life? My partner has gone through excessive drinking periods but never got withdrawals. Does that mean he's just not as susceptible as me to being physically dependent? I'm aware of risk of DTs, seizures etc, so don't want to take any chances, but also want to be normal again if possible, and if there's a way for my body to kick the physical dependence over time, after a period of not drinking and giving my body a break. Because I would miss having wine with dinner or getting drunk in social situations, since I'm still relatively young, and would prefer to not go through a life of not drinking at all if possible. Thanks for your advice.