I used to believe alcohol was essential to have fun, and it had a lot to do with my upbringing. Alcohol = good times and it did for my family, but not for me. I was always chasing that good time that others seem to get, and that I used to get at the start, but for me alcohol = misery.
The obsession of the mind lead me to believe that the only way to have a good time, to be accepted in life etc was to drink. This is a lie, as I have since discovered. My social circle rarely drink, and when they do it is nothing like my kinda drinking. They are not boring and don't regard me as such. We have loads of fun and adventure together.
One thing I did in my drinking days was crticise those who didn't drink like I did as boring. I could not understand how they could drink so little. What was the point? Well, my alcoholic life was the only normal one, so how could I think anything else? The reality was that, as a drunk, it was me who was the bore.