It took me more than just quitting to reduce my anxiety. The first thing I noticed when I stopped was the anxiety about drinking was relieved. As the months rolled on, I didn't have that guilt and shame spiral going on which made life a little bit easier.

From there, I learnt to live differently, I slowly stopped relying on booze for that social crutch, or to settle my nerves when I was stressed. I started living with some self acceptance and the anxiety started to reduce dramatically.

With some proper exercise and physical activity it's almost gone at just over 3 years, however every now and then it rears back up and I've found a quick guided mediation helps to settle me down.

I think the most important part for me has been learning to deal with life differently, I don't worry about the stupid small or stuff I used to, and that's given me the ability to really put problems into perspective.