If you want to stop drinking alcohol as part of a move towards a healthier lifestyle, cutting down on the amount of alcohol you drink as opposed to giving up alcohol completely can help bring lots of health benefits, and can be significantly easier to sustain. Reducing the amount you drink can also be an effective stepping stone to giving up alcohol completely in the future.
You can succeed in overcoming even severe alcohol abuse, if you place the focus on the life you want to create for yourself, that is, how you will reinvent yourself. And yes, you may have to do some work on the sources of the pain you had dulled with alcohol, and you may need some help. But if you keep your focus on moving forward, not on where you’ve been, you greatly increase your likelihood of success.