You are going to get tons of good feedback re. your drinking. and since I tend to be a bit "rough" we will just leave it at that.
What I wanted to comment on is that you saw what most people (like your friends) either don't see or refuse to see and it hurt you because you bet it is darn uncomfortable. It shows me that you have a good heart.
One thing that I found very helpful is service work. Getting out of ourselves, making a small difference and cultivating an attitude of gratitude.
I would suggest that you try to look into volunteering at a winter shelter or a soup kitchen, contact your local churches and see what can be done. Especially now that Christmas is over, most people will not even think about donating or volunteering to soup kitchens etc. till next December...(yup kindness to the poor is for some a seasonal thing).