Originally Posted by
JPA 
The reality is though ugh that I just find the prospect of quitting too daunting. In the past two years, I’d say the longest I’ve gone without a drink is four days. Without a drink in me I could barely walk, barely talk. Everything was a massive strain. I felt incredibly ill, until I had a few beers and everything was right again.
This is why addiction kills so many people, and it's why it took me reaching the brink of suicide before I quit. I ended up going to my doctor for help in desperation. There is no real way to totally avoid going though the withdrawal period without experiencing the pain, but if you seek professional help they can help take the edge off of it with a detox program. I did detox, an outpatient treatment program and AA. The detox helped me get through the worst of the physical symptoms of withdrawal, the treatment program helped me formulate a plan to stay sober, and the program (the steps) of AA was that plan.
Here's a passage from Alcoholics Anonymous (pp 151-152) that explains better than anything else I've ever read of how I felt at the end of my drinking. Like you, I also reached the point where I couldn't imagine life without alcohol. But I also reached the point where I couldn't imagine life with alcohol any longer. It was a special place in hell I never wish to be in again.
The less people tolerated us the more we withdrew from society, from life itself. As we became subject of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship and approval. Momentarily we did—then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen—Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair. Unhappy drinkers who read this page will understand!
Now and then a serious drinker, being dry at the moment says, "I don't miss it at all. Feel better. Work better. Having a better time." As ex-problem drinkers, we smile at such a sally. We know our friend is like a boy whistling in the dark to keep up his spirits. He fools himself. Inwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks and get away with them. He will presently try the old game again, for he isn't happy about his sobriety. He cannot picture life without alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it. Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end
After 6+ years of sobriety I still get chills whenever I read this passage at it's uncanny accuracy in explaining exactly how I felt in the last days of my drinking.