Maybe stay in bed in the morning an extra hour, zooming in and out of dreams. I know someone who talks about the 9th hour of sleep as the time when creative dreams come -- after all the head trash is over and the mind is rested.
Also, on the days when I need and want to settle down to make something, putting anything between me and the empty paper is a bad idea. Even if all I get down is words that'll be crossed out later, if I don't fiddle around with the task I get seriously into the anxiety-about-one's-own-procrastination thing. Then that becomes a major distraction in itself.
PS I'm quite sure, even if you're not, that you didn't lose your artistic talent with the booze & pills.
