0_Wizard
Hi there, I haven't drunk alcohol for 5 years and going strong
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Drunk drivers
People driving under the influence of alcohol are commonly referred to as drunk drivers, or drink-drivers. When charged with this as a crime, it may either be referred to as a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) or a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), where a DUI is generally considered to be a lesser crime. Studies have been performed to identify commonalities between severe drunk drivers. Laws are also in place to protect citizens from the consequences incurred by drunk drivers. According to "Why drunk drivers may get behind the wheel", a Mental Health Weekly Digest article, "[a]lcohol-related motor vehicle accidents claim 17,000 American lives each year- the equivalent of one death every 30 minutes.
Alcohol laws of New Jersey
The state laws governing alcoholic beverages in New Jersey are among the most complex in the United States, with many peculiarities not found in other states' laws. They provide for 29 distinct liquor licenses granted to manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and for the public warehousing and transport of alcoholic beverages. General authority for the statutory and regulatory control of alcoholic beverages rests with the state government, particularly the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control overseen by the state's Attorney General. Under home rule, New Jersey law grants individual municipalities substantial discretion in passing ordinances regulating the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages within their limits.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. Problems may include an abnormal appearance, short height, low body weight, small head size, poor coordination, low intelligence, behavior problems, and problems with hearing or seeing. Those affected are more likely to have trouble in school, legal problems, participate in high-risk behaviors, and have trouble with alcohol or other drugs. The most severe form of the condition is known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Other types include partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) and alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD).
Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar, is when blood sugar decreases to below normal levels. This may result in a variety of symptoms including clumsiness, trouble talking, confusion, loss of consciousness, seizures, or death. A feeling of hunger, sweating, shakiness, and weakness may also be present. Symptoms typically come on quickly. The most common cause of hypoglycemia is medications used to treat diabetes mellitus such as insulin and sulfonylureas. Risk is greater in diabetics who have eaten less than usual, exercised more than usual, or have drunk alcohol. Other causes of hypoglycemia include kidney failure, certain tumors, such as insulinoma, liver disease, hypothyroidism, starvation, inborn error of metabolism, severe infections, reactive hypoglycemia, and a number of drugs including alcohol.
Drunk driving in the United States
Drunk driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle while the operator's ability to do so impaired as a result of alcohol consumption, or with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit. For drivers 21 years or older, driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher is illegal. For drivers under 21 years old, the legal limit is lower, with state limits ranging from 0.00 to 0.02. Different BAC limits apply when operating boats, airplanes, or commercial vehicles. Among other names, the criminal offense of drunk driving may be called driving under the influence (DUI), driving while impaired (DWI) or operating while impaired (OWI).
Alcoholism
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in mental or physical health problems. The disorder was previously divided into two types: alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions is present: a person drinks large amounts over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use.
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence (DUI), driving while impaired/driving while intoxicated (DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI) or drink-driving (UK) is currently the crime or offense of driving or operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or other drugs (including recreational drugs and those prescribed by physicians), to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely. Traffic accidents are predominantly caused by driving under the influence; for people in Europe between the age of 15 and 29, DUI is one of the main causes of mortality. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration alcohol-related crashes cause approximately $37 billion in damages annually.
1_Apprentice
Wow congratulations on your sobriety!  That is an awesome accomplishment.  My dad got sober when I was a child.
0_Wizard
Thank you! It was extremely difficult at the beginning, but during treatment your goal is independence from consuming alcohol 
In a treatment setting, sobriety is the achieved goal of independence from consuming alcohol.
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Sobriety
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Alcohol and health
Alcohol (also known as ethanol) has a number of effects on health. Short-term effects of alcohol consumption include intoxication and dehydration. Long-term effects of alcohol consumption include changes in the metabolism of the liver and brain and alcoholism. Alcohol intoxication affects the brain, causing slurred speech, clumsiness, and delayed reflexes. Alcohol stimulates insulin production, which speeds up glucose metabolism and can result in low blood sugar, causing irritability and possibly death for diabetics. A 2014 World Health Organization report found that harmful alcohol consumption caused about 3.3 million deaths annually worldwide.
Social inhibition
Social inhibition is a conscious or subconscious avoidance of a situation or social interaction. With a high level of social inhibition, situations are avoided because of the possibility of others disapproving of their feelings or expressions. Social inhibition is related to behavior, appearance, social interactions, or a subject matter for discussion. Related processes that deal with social inhibition are social evaluation concerns, anxiety in social interaction, social avoidance, and withdrawal. Also related are components such as cognitive brain patterns, anxious apprehension during social interactions, and internalizing problems.
Drug-facilitated sexual assault
Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is a sexual assault (rape or otherwise) carried out on a person after the person has become incapacitated due to being under the influence of any mind-altering substances, such as having consumed alcohol or been intentionally administered another date rape drug. The rape form is also known as predator rape. Researchers have found that alcohol-facilitated rape is the most common form of sexual violence against women  As with other types of rape, a DFSA is a crime of physical violence, and can be a result of sexual hedonism and entitlement. Most victims of DFSA are women and perpetrators men.
Alcoholic polyneuropathy
Alcoholic polyneuropathy (A.K.A alcohol leg) is a neurological disorder in which multiple peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunction simultaneously. It is defined by axonal degeneration in neurons of both the sensory and motor systems and initially occurs at the distal ends of the longest axons in the body. This nerve damage causes an individual to experience pain and motor weakness, first in the feet and hands and then progressing centrally. Alcoholic polyneuropathy is caused primarily by chronic alcoholism; however, vitamin deficiencies are also known to contribute to its development. This disease typically occurs in chronic alcoholics who have some sort of nutritional deficiency.
Alcohol in Australia
Alcohol is commonly consumed and available at pubs and liquor stores in Australia – all of which are private enterprises. Spirits can be purchased at liquor stores and pubs, whereas grocery stores do not sell them, although they may have separate liquor stores on their premises. Alcohol consumption is higher, according to WHO studies, than in most European countries and several Central Asian and African countries, although consumption is just as high in Australia as in North America. After tobacco, alcohol is the second leading preventable cause of death and hospitalisation in Australia. Alcohol is served in many social and recreational situations, and its use is often encouraged.
Infidelity
Infidelity (synonyms include: cheating, adultery (when married), netorare (NTR), being unfaithful, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's assumed or stated contract regarding emotional and/or sexual exclusivity. Other scholars define infidelity as a violation according to the subjective feeling that one's partner has violated a set of rules or relationship norms; this violation results in feelings of sexual jealousy and rivalry. What constitutes an act of infidelity depends upon the exclusivity expectations within the relationship. In marital relationships, exclusivity expectations are commonly assumed although they are not always met.
Causes of seizures
There are many causes of seizures. The factors that lead to a seizure are often complex and it may not be possible to determine what causes a particular seizure, what causes it to happen at a particular time, or how often seizures occur. Malnutrition and overnutrition may increase the risk of seizures. Examples include the following:   Folic acid in large amounts was considered to potentially counteract the antiseizure effects of antiepileptic drugs and increase the seizure frequency in some children, although that concern is no longer held by epileptologists. Those with various medical conditions may suffer seizures as one of their symptoms.
1_Apprentice
Did you use a specific treatment program to help you achieve your goal?
0_Wizard
The most important thing for me was the support of my friends and family - they would not drink either when I was around, which suppressed the temptation! The AA meetings were very useful too 
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Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. AA's stated "primary purpose" is to "stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety". With other early members, Bill Wilson and Bob Smith developed AA's Twelve Step program of spiritual and character development. AA's initial Twelve Traditions were introduced in 1946 to help the fellowship be stable and unified while disengaged from "outside issues" and influences. The Traditions recommend that members remain anonymous in public media, altruistically help other alcoholics, and that AA groups avoid official affiliations with other organizations.
Effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous
The effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous in treating alcoholism is a subject of ongoing interdisciplinary research and debate in a multitude of academic and non-academic contexts. The Surgeon General of the United States 2016 Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health states "Well-supported scientific evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of twelve-step mutual aid groups focused on alcohol and twelve-step facilitation interventions." There are two principal ways to measure the effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA):   While newer studies have suggested an association between AA attendance and increased abstinence or other positive outcomes, older studies and studies done outside of the United States have not.
The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited
The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited (1995) is a book by psychiatrist George E. Vaillant that describes two multi-decade studies of the lives of 600 American males, non-alcoholics at the outset, focusing on their lifelong drinking behaviours. By following the men from youth to old age it was possible to chart their drinking patterns and what factors may have contributed to alcoholism. Another study followed 100 severe alcoholics from a clinic eight years after their detoxification. "The National Review" hailed the first edition (1983) as "a genuine revolution in the field of alcoholism research" and said that "Vaillant has combined clinical experience with an unprecedented amount of empirical data to produce what may ultimately come to be viewed as the single most important contribution to the literature of alcoholism since the first edition of AA's Big Book."
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) describes itself as a "nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem". Narcotics Anonymous uses a traditional 12-step model that has been expanded and developed for people with varied substance abuse issues and is the second-largest 12-step organization. The third tradition of NA states that the only requirement for membership is "a desire to stop using." NA says its meetings are where members can "meet regularly to help each other stay clean". All facts and quotes presented in "The Narcotics Anonymous program" section, unless otherwise sourced, come from the "Narcotics Anonymous (Basic Text)".
Bill W.
William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), an international mutual aid fellowship with over twenty million members worldwide belonging to approximately 10,000 groups, associations, organizations, cooperatives, and fellowships of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. Following AA's Twelfth Tradition of anonymity, Wilson is commonly known as "Bill W." or "Bill." In order to communicate among one another, members of "AA" will often ask those who appear to be suffering or having a relapse from alcoholism if they are "friends with Bill".
Women For Sobriety
Women For Sobriety, Inc. (WFS), is a non-profit secular addiction recovery group for women with addiction problems. WFS was created by sociologist Jean Kirkpatrick in 1976 as an alternative to twelve-step addiction recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). As of 1998 there were more than 200 WFS groups worldwide. Only women are allowed to attend the organization's meetings as the groups focus specifically on women's issues. WFS is not a radical feminist, anti-male, or anti-AA organization. Jean Kirkpatrick attended AA meetings for three years and was unable to maintain sobriety. The methods of what is now the "New Life" program of Women For Sobriety empowered Kirkpatrick to quit drinking.
History of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson (known as Bill W.) and Dr. Robert Smith (known as Dr. Bob). Subsequently, The history of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been documented in books, movies, and AA literature. This history begins with the group's early struggles and continues through its worldwide growth. In post-Prohibition 1930s America, it was common to perceive alcoholism as a moral failing, and the medical profession standards of the time treated it as a condition that was likely incurable and lethal. Those without financial resources found help through state hospitals, the Salvation Army, or other charitable and religious groups.
1_Apprentice
That is very helpful.  Have you been through all 12 steps?