Waking up in rehab, looking up at the ceiling and seeing sprinklers, and wondering when I'd put them in. Took a few minutes to remember where I was, wandered out in the halls to confirm.
First exposure to the first step of AA. Counseling and group work.
By the end of the first week I had to admit that once I started drinking, I had no control over alcohol and my life had become unmanageable. Non-problem drinkers simply NEVER wake up in rehab.
This was my first and last attempt to get sober. For me, it was crossing a line. There was a gradual point in my drinking/using career where I became an addict. Once that line was crossed, I could never go back to "normal drinking." Once I really bought into the idea that there was no such thing as one drink for me, I crossed another line into sobriety. This was different, it was fast and like I'd flipped a switch.
I'm just done. Nearly a year later, it's worked. The positivity in my life is so much greater than it was when I was drinking/using, and that's what keeps me from EVER going back to it.