[LongSufferingToady]

Dear Mr. Red,

That is good news. I come from a family of alcoholics. In fact, it's a divine right in our family and the alcoholism goes back generations. There's no easy way out of this one except to do what you are doing: stopping and reaching out for support.

The horrible thing about coping mechanisms (in this case drinking) is they work (of a fashion) or we wouldn't use them. But they never quite help us go beyond survival.

You are taking a step beyond survival, into grappling with living and that's the good news.

Hang in there.