Originally Posted by
secretchord 
I tell ya, this has to be the hardest state to be sober in.
I know a lot of people would say "oh, that sounds like a pretty lame excuse."
However, there is data to back up disconcerting aspects of the drinking culture in Wisconsin. I'll try to see if I can find the series the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a few years ago. It's excellent.
There's also the unrelenting power of the liquor lobby in Madison. Earlier in my career, my work brought me to the capitol frequently. There, the Tavern League was known as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
All that said, everyone has challenges. It just means that the external world in your life is one of them, but it doesn't mean you need to give it power. One huge recommendation: Stay out of the bars.
You can do this, Secret Chord. It gets better.