Well at the risk of oversimplifying things the first thing you have to do is stop drinking. As an alcoholic though I know how hard it is. Drinking can be an easy way to escape from negative emotions for a short time, but it only makes things worse in the long run. If you've been drinking for a while it can be really hard to quit without support. I personally go to AA and find it really helpful. You might want to give them a try, there are meetings just about everywhere - just look in your phone book for alcoholics annonymous.

I also needed a treatment centre to quit drinking because I was so badly addicted. If you're interested and think that a treatment centre would help you, your dr. is a good place to start for referals.

The thing I find most helpful in staying sober, is an AA thing, which is to only worry about 24 hours at a time. I only have to not pick up that first drink today, and I'll stay sober. I'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow. sometimes it's a question of taking it an hour at a time to not drink, but as long as I don't pick up that first drink, I stay sober.

If 12 step programs aren't your thing, or you can't get to a meeting, there's a good website - smartrecovery.org, that's a lot like PC only it's just for addictions. They have a lot of good resources on line and support forums.

We also have a live recovery chat here every Tues. night at 10 pm EST. Not sure where you're at or what time zone you're in, but you'd be more than welcome to come and join us in chat.

--splitimage