Originally Posted by
steve-in-kville 
You have to want it. And want to change everything. Until you do, the vicious cycle will not stop.
And my goodness, it’s a lot to ask of people when they quit drinking, but you are right Steve, it is the only way.
It’s like the black demon seeps into every single corner and cranny of your life. Cutting it out of your life is more than just not lifting a bottle to your lips, it’s a 24 hour a day, seven day a week commitment with all new routines, new coping mechanisms, new ways of looking at hard times, at celebrations, at family and friends, your entire lens of life changes. And if you stay sober it changes on its own whether you want it to or not, and that can also be such a huge adjustment.
Then, returning to drinking sets you back to square one and it starts all over again with the same cravings and the same life.
That’s why so many do relapse.
You have to want it, it has to be a final solution, and you have to feel that internal need to walk away from your drinking life without looking back.
I had a lot of black, dark experiences at the end and those are what I remember, so I kept walking toward the light. There wasn’t any light left back there.