Blah blahblah

As someone whose parents are not alcoholics (but enjoy a glass of wine now and then), and who doesn’t drink himself, allow me to share my two cents:

Back when I would sometimes drink alcohol, I did it because there was a party, or we were out on the town, or something like that. It was a social thing, it was to celebrate, like the icing on the cake, so-to-speak. A certain degree of peer-pressure also played a part.

I did NOT drink to drown my sorrows. Or rather: that is not 100% true. I suffer from social anxiety, and I would sometimes get drunk on a night out in an attempt to banish that anxiety. But I just ended up being a nuisance to others and embarrassing myself. But mostly, I did not drink to drown my sorrows.

And I think that is where your concern needs to be aimed: that you’re drinking to deal with emotional issues like loneliness, exhaustion from work, a job you don’t like. Alcohol is not going to solve those issues at all, it will only make them worse.

You need to take care of your mental health, just like your physical health. Get your sleep, reach out when you feel lonely (there is a book by neuroscientist John Cacioppo about loneliness and what to do about it), look for another job, consider moving in with people you want to be like, and above all, don’t try to do it all alone. Instead of reaching for the bottle, when things become too much to bear, reach for a helping hand.

Hugs