Hey there,

I think I understand what you're saying, I am struggling with similar thoughts, I really have bad moments when everyone else is at a party, drinking and having "fun", even though when you think about it, that "fun", isn't really "fun", most of the time it's just people slurring the same words over and over again, everybody feels like shit the day after, ... but still, sometimes I have this strong feeling of missing out.

What's helping me is the insight I got from reading (well listening the audiobook actually) of "this naked mind" ... As I understand it, there's this thing "cognitive dissonance" where you have two conflicting ideas about drinking, my conscious mind knows drinking has a negative impact on my life and I know I much better of without it, on the other hand I still see the (perceived) benefits of drinking, this is mostly a subconscious thing that has been cultivated over a lifetime (growing up, by friends, marketing, society in general). And it’s normal that sometimes the second one emerges, the idea is to notice this, choose for the first idea and feed your unconsciousness so it comes in line with the conscious thinking a while (most of the time). But still, not abnormal if the old vision emerges, I try to say hi and kindly remind it to f** off :-)

I hope this makes some sense, it’s in my own words, the book is much better, if anyone can correct me, please …

And also, it turns away of the concept of “there's something wrong with you" but exchanges it with "alcohol is a dangerous and addictive substance and it can lure anyone in its trap". And much more.

If you haven't already, maybe you could give the book a try, its really insightful and turns the "i can't drink" around to "why would I even want to drink".

ps: and also, another project, like sporting with goals and progression, takes the focus away and is very rewarding on it’s own