I think that unless someone has personally experienced addiction, they will never truly get what its like to go through it. The total mental battle that it takes to get away from it.
What might be an idea is to prep yourself for withdrawal symptoms. It is possible to go through them and yes feeling absolutely awful, but still able to function on a lowish level. I dont believe there is a way to avoid them completely. The choice seems to be one hard shock (CT) or prolonged as in tapering. Both ways are valid dependent on the person but either way, there are lots to do to help while going through it and accepting that it won’t be fun for a while.
How did you get on after not taking the 3 the other night?