I'm sure he IS suffering--when you are basically living to drink, well, that isn't really living. He MAY not attribute his suffering to his drinking, though. Alcoholics tend to think their problems cause them to drink, rather than the drinking causing their problems.
What problems? He sounds depressed, and adrift. My guess is that he thinks the alcohol takes him away from those feelings--which it sort of does (at least he can't feel them as much), but the alcohol may actually be creating those problems.