Five, I have said many times that alcohol worked for me in the beginning - it helped me be more social, and make friends, in my late teens and twenties mostly. I had an absentee alcoholic father and came out of high school really shy and clueless about girls, lol. Used weed mostly then booze at age 21, and despite drinking too much, I gained confidence, at work and with women. Built a career in IT, but by the time I was 32 I had high liver enzymes from drinking every night. Then stuff started happening - some crazy stuff at a IT convention, and a brief affair with a co-worker. I had a reputation as a party animal. That shook me and I quit drinking for two years while I was married, but quitting the booze didn't help my other issues, except I got promoted at work. So the marriage fell apart and I picked up again. I managed to moderate for several more years as my career continued full bore, but as I said, by 40 I knew I had a problem. Anxiety was getting really bad, and I was taking risks in other areas of my life - burning the candle at both ends. At that point it was almost impossible to quit due to the work and social pressure, entertaining clients, travel, etc..So, it worked for me until it didn't, Five. Then it was downhill pretty fast, lol.