My mate drunk on Saturday nights. He would play football on Saturday, Darts mid-week, Friday was cinema. I never did any of those things as my 'relaxation' was drinking or a better way to put it was my getting away from myself was drinking whereas his was his hobbies. He did his hobbies for no reason other than to get the same 'feeling' i got from my drinking, he didn't want to be the best, lose weight, socialise more etc he just did. So, for me, replacing the drinking was not easy at all and depending on how often you drink will be how hard it is! So in answer to your question how do you take a break? You get hobbies and get smashed once a week/fortnight/month with your mates. How do you take a break when you don't drink anymore is not such an easy answer.