That's one hell of a story. You should be proud of the fact that you decided, on your own, to do this, and that you were actually able to get through it to the other side. Sounds like it wasn't at all easy, but I'm glad to hear you made it through.
Thankfully I'm one of those "moderation" people you mentioned. I don't have an addictive personality at all and have always been able to moderate my substance use (including alcohol) so thankfully I don't think I'll ever need to put myself through anything like this. But if I ever *do* get to that point, god forbid, I hope I have the ability to get through it like you did.