I am in the process of arranging to go into in-patient treatment for alcohol abuse. I feel good about this decision, especially since no one is forcing me or giving me ultimatums to do so. Rather, it is a decision I came to on my own following years of unsuccessful attempts to control/stop drinking without support. I look forward to the opportunity to take a break from my present responsibilities and focus on myself for a change, to start feeling healthy, and most importantly start to really deal with the underlying issues behind my drinking, stress, trauma and emotional, physical and sexual abuse being among them. However, I am apprehensive about what to expect from the treatment process. Has anyone else here been and if so are you comfortable sharing your experience with me? What did you find useful from it, and did it keep you sober afterward? This is what I’m most worried about, maintaining sobriety after treatment I mean, given that it can be so easy to fall back into bad patterns. Anyways any and all insights are appreciated. JS

What I'd have liked to know is that many true things would not seem true to me for a long time after I started to try stopping.

So keep an open mind. When you are told something that does not seem to apply to you, just hold onto it you don't have to rebel. I still find things on occasion that I misunderstood or self-protected myself from being able to see previously.
You do not have to accept a label you don't want, just don't block out any ideas that you do not agree with. It can take many months for the insight of the wisdom behind it to come to light.

Good Luck I think you are very lucky to have this opportunity.

Thanks Kidneythis. Like you say while some things may not apply to me in particular, AA has a line I like - "take what you need and leave the rest", which is exactly how I'm going into this. While I have never been a huge fan of AA they do have some excellent insights for living. My objective is to maintain lasting sobriety by whatever means necessary, not just for it's own sake but to fill up the emptiness inside me that I've been covering up with drinking for long with other more life giving things that will foster true happiness. Telling myself that I deserve to be happy is difficult for me but its a good place to start as I embark upon this journey. JS