Hello and welcome to the site. You'll find a lot of support here.
I, too, started out binge drinking, but for me, that quickly led to the drinking sessions getting closer and closer together until I was drinking every day.
It doesn't sound like that's the case with you, but you still recognize you may have a drinking problem.
What I've learned is that it's not that important how often we drink, but how alcohol affects us when we do drink. And it sounds like you have trouble stopping once you start.
I was that way, too For roughly around the same timeframe as you. A little longer.
I got to the point where I couldn't control my intake, nor could I control how much I'd drink once I got started. Then I lost all control.
But to your problem, I would give AA a try or another program of recovery.
I lost some drinking buddies when I finally quit, but that's all we had in common so they weren't missed.
True friends will stick by you.
You can tell whomever you wish of your intentions. I was surprised by how little some cared. That was good. Really, it's personal and I didn't care what anyone thought of it I was quitting to save my life.
Best to you and I hope you stick around here. And remember, you never have to drink again.