Booze was never the problem. Drinking was a symptom of

Booze was never the problem. Drinking was a symptom of a larger problem I didn’t understand. I have come to realize I have an acute disillusionment with modernity, and a severe dissatisfaction with how the world seems to work.

Not even a “non-conformist” view of things, because that would assume an adherence to a predefined dogma of “non-conformity,” but rather a complete lack of satisfaction with what was promised versus what is delivered today. I have searched the writing of the existentialists, the nihilists, the moral realists and found little comfort other than “this is how it is.” I drank because I hated that truth.

I can’t drink because I drank so much that my liver stopped working, and if I do again it will kill me. Now, I have to just live with it. Maybe that’s the lesson: that suffering is standard, and maybe I have to take moments of joy where I can, as they are few and far between. I have no real contentment in life. My sorrows are deep, and there’s little that platitudes can solve.

I’m just trying to understand why I drank so much, for so long.

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You just haven't found your contentment yet.

That’s putting it mildly. I know that’s part of AA 12 steps, I just don’t see me ever finding it.

What you seek is seeking you…

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wu wei

Look in different places, man. Maybe it's not in Ohio.

Finding the reason was hard for me, and I still don't know if I found why I chose to drink so much. Drinking was definitely a deadly symptom of something else for me too. But, I do enjoy life more without it and I hope you find contentment soon brother.

At my age there’s no point in moving. I already did the NYC thing in my 20s. I also moved back to this area because I couldn’t live by myself and not drink all day at home, apparently.

I’m wondering “why” you need to know “why?” That could be the very thing keeping you stuck in a negative frame of mind. My drinking was not the problem. It’s what I did to escape my reality. I couldn’t cope with life. It was my “thinking” that was and still can be a problem for me. But as long as I don’t pour a drink on the problem or whatever may be bothering me at any given time, then my life seems to go a whole lot better…..