Diha,
Great posts here. What Sassy said -- amazing.
For me, it was a decision, no more, no less. Not an easy decision, but once taken, no other option is on the table.
The main thing for me to realize was that I can stop, but I can never ever control my drinking. As Dee would say, never confuse abstinence with control.
Unlike Sass, I do sometimes still think it would be nice to have a drink, but then I remind myself that I dont drink and that is that. Becuase I never have one drink. None of us do.
I never did any formal anything. Read books, hung out here and Hip Sobriety, all part of the process, but at the end it was a decision. One only I could take and keep.
I hope for you you will make the same decision. As Sass said, it is freedom. Control. Integrity. All there for the taking...grab it.