I'm so glad this thread was brought forward. This is just what I needed. I am addicted to alcohol and carbs. I've been on low carbs this time since Sept. 1st, and abstinent from alcohol this time for only 5 days. I'm in a very precarious position right now. I'm spending a lot of time on the forums to help keep myself accountable. All of the posters that I gain strength from are my "sponsors."

This is very, very difficult. It's so stark and harsh, like facing into the bright headlights of an oncoming car at night. I have always used alcohol to tone things down, numb me out a little bit, and take the edge off. As I am losing weight, I'm uncovering and releasing emotional baggage that seems to be buried in the layers of fat that have cushioned my body for so many years and have protected me from feeling the pain. This is hard to describe, but there is a lot of pain embedded within my body and my psyche that now seems to be unraveling. It's as if I am disintegrating, and I have no idea who I am going to be when the unraveling is complete.

Without alcohol, I feel so totally raw and vulnerable....

Paleo, can you tell me how long it took for you in sobriety before you knew you had "made it"? Or how you knew that this time, I'm not going back? I have quit alcohol for a whole year before and still went back. I know it's not possible to ever feel "safe" from it's allure, but what indicators did you have that took you out once and for all?