I agree with your friends. One of the best things I ever did was to do IOP. I also needed the jumpstart. I had tried to quit without it many times. The other times, I had not even gone to AA, just tried to do it with sheer willpower. Never lasted more than a few weeks, because I had no tools. This time (over 4 years ago), I went to IOP, went to multiple meetings a week, got a sponsor, worked the steps. I started posting here. I also made myself accountable to others, not just people in recovery. I told everyone who would listen that I had quit drinking, and asked them to support me and call me out if they saw me with a drink. I got more support than I ever thought possible. I'm sure some people judged me, but I didn't care. I was fighting for my life at that point.
But I think the MOST important thing I did differently this time was that I got really honest with myself and others, and I truly surrendered. I admitted out loud that I'm an alcoholic. I admitted I was powerless over alcohol, that I could never again drink safely. That seems to have been the real key for me. In the past, I had always held a tiny kernel of the thought that if I just quit for a while, maybe someday I could drink normally again. I no longer think that. I'm just... done. That mindset has served me well.