Originally Posted by
doggonecarl 
Control your drinking? Like making sure is doesn't get out of control? Manage your drinking?
Or quit drinking? Forever?
LoneJedi,
Welcome to the forum, and already you are introduced to one of the most important aspects of recovery, which I have to underscore. Almost every alcoholic in recovery begins with the fantasy of controlled drinking, and it makes perfect sense. Everyone tells you to control your drinking. It's our dream to drink like normal people, in control and able to put it down easily.
It's not in our cards. Go ahead and try it, and you will soon know that it doesn't work, except in the case that you're not really an alcoholic, and then you're home free. But you are here because you already have an inkling that you have a problem with alcohol. It's what brings all of us to places like this. We all began with that inkling, and in fact we can help, not because we are gurus and experts. We can help because we have been there and found answers.
The good news is that with all your reservations about living a life without any alcohol, it is not the problem you think it is, and it also includes a big surprise. When you stop drinking, the rewards for an alcoholic are probably beyond your expectations. It's not the sacrifice you are probably imagining right now.