I find I'm able to deal with outings with friends when there is a general sharing of a bottle of wine or 2 or 3 if we're a big group, etc. Some friends, who are not alcoholics, who occassionally go out with drinking an 'letting off steam' as the purpose of the evening. I've set the boundary for myself that I won't join their evenings out when cutting loose is the main focus of the outing. I don't enjoy it, so why go along.