Like many on this thread I have completely given up drinking and it was probably the best decision I have ever made.
In high school I drank a little without issue, but in college and early twenties I picked up the pace on drinking more often and getting more drunk. Toward my late 20's I noticed that hangovers got worse both physically and emotionally. Even on lighter nights of drinking (like 5 or 6 beers) I had this emotionally shaky borderline depressed feel the next day.
I was not the type drinking every day/waking up drinking vodka but but on the heavier days/nights a few time a week once I got started there was no stopping me. It also felt like there was no stopping the stupid drunken behavior. For example, I remember one winter night when my friend and I got turned away by a strip club bouncer for wearing boots. We resorted to walking about fifty feet up the street where while taunting the bouncer with insults we fired many snowballs at us until he finally charged us full speed. Somehow it did not end worse than it did.
In any case the final straw (after many many ones) was December 22, 2007. The economy was just starting to tank, I had just bought a new house with what was then a hefty mortgage to cover, and I had not done any Christmas shopping due to going out most nights in December. My last chance was getting out of work early on Dec 22 to do some last minute shopping.
Instead at lunch I had about 6 pints and a few shots at lunch with co-workers. Returning to the office we knocked back a few six packs from the deli downstairs. Me and one of my co-workers then walked around the corner to a strip club and started doing shots of tequila + more beer. Somehow after I think 2 bottles of champagne I remember standing in front of my fridge around 6AM downing orange juice and eating cold pizza that I must have gotten along the way (somewhere on the way home there was a fuzzy run in with the cops after argument with a taxi driver).
At that moment in front of the fridge with my head pounding/too much money spent/too many time coming home late and arguing with my then girlfriend I got almost giddy. The reason was somehow I knew for a fact that this was finally it and I would NEVER feel like that again. And I KNEW that I would never feel like that again because I would never have another drink.
So in the past 8+ years I have stuck to this and have gotten back into running, set PRS for the 1st time since age 20, found a new girlfriend, gotten married and now have 2 kids under 2.
The first few days after quitting was not hard (as I had laid off before for a few days or a week or 2 tops) but the hardest for me was the following few weeks where I could have slipped back into it. These days there are some urges here and there to start pounding beers but not so strong that I can't ignore them. Most family and friends know by now and understand and don't bother offering me anything to drink. If a new person offers I just say politely but firmly "those days are behind me" and most people get the message.
My father for some reason from time to time asks me if I just want a taste of a wine or beer. Genetically, the problem drinking genes somehow missed him so he does not understand the pull that alcohol has on me (although he had many uncles/relatives that are long since dead who tore up PA coal mining towns with their drunken antics 50 to 100 years ago).