Littlewhitebag - no I didn't get family and friends onside. My problem, I was the one to sort it. I started out just giving up for January - after the excesses of Christmas and the New Year, and then I thought - right I've done a month, I'll keep going and see where I get and here I am in July, not having touched a drop all year. My kids know I've stopped drinking (they think it's great) and my sister, but I didn't get anyone 'on side' as it were - I just did it for myself.
Getyourfingersout - don't worry about the not sleeping. If you are anything like me, you will be like Rip Van Winkle in the first few weeks and months. Giving up drinking (if you've been a big boozer) is exhausting. I've never known tiredness like it, to the point I thought something else was medically wrong with me, then I found an alcohol forum and discovered that extreme tiredness is a very common symptom in the first weeks/months after quitting. I too always thought I'd have to be half-pissed to fall asleep but I was wrong, plus the quality of sleep when you have alcohol coursing through your system is rubbish. Sober sleep is proper sleep - deep and refreshing, as it should be.
When you pack up drinking, your body goes through a 'what the fuck?' process - because after years of being fuelled with alcohol, that's suddenly taken away and your body is wondering what the hell is going on. It can't speak of course, so it develops all these weird and wonderful symptoms to attract your attention - from the DTs (in severe cases) to less severe symptoms for the rest of us (like developing a sweet tooth even if you never had one before - in my case I found I could easily eat a whole packet of Mr. Kipling Bakewell slices in one go, whereas when I was boozing, I never, ever ate cake of any description) ..... one of which is is extreme tiredness which then carries onto into a normal sleeping pattern as your body heals and replenishes itself. I have never slept so much, so deeply, or as well as I do now.
You don't need booze to sleep, you just think you do. We live in a world of self-medication, whether it's booze, drugs, cigarettes, comfort food .. but the truth is we don't need any of it. Our bodies will work perfectly well for us if they are not abused, looked after and well nourished, and pouring liquid poison into ourselves (which is what booze is) because it 'helps us sleep' 'de-stresses' us etc. etc ... is just plain bollocks. I used to think I needed a bottle or two of wine when I was stressed out. I didn't and I don't.