I drank every day for years, and I couldn’t control myself no matter how hard I tried. When I set out to make it through the day sober, I’d give up by sundown. When I told myself that I’d stick to just one drink for the night, I’d end up going through every last drop of alcohol in my apartment instead.
I might not have fit the cliche image of an alcoholic living on the streets without a home or job, but there was no real question of whether my drinking habit was controlling my life. My entire evening schedule was structured around making sure I had enough time to get drunk before bed.
My drinking led to social isolation, bad finances, and poor mental and physical health. Despite this, I struggled for years to quit.