Why Do You Drink? The Answer Is Simpler Than You Think

It’s hard to imagine life without alcohol. Of course it is. Most of us grew up in a world that treats drinking as normal, expected, even desirable.

We’re shown glossy adverts that promise connection, confidence and glamour. We learn a social script growing up: birthdays, weddings, Friday nights, Tuesday nights… there’s a drink for every moment. Before long, alcohol looks like the answer to everything.

The fact is, though, alcohol is a drug. Nothing more, nothing less, and even low-level dependence on that drug can show up in many forms.

“I need it to have fun”

Maybe it’s the belief you can’t have a fun night out without it. Could you have a fun night on any other drug? Yes, but it's probably not something you’d plan, because you’ve never been taught that you need those to have a good time. You're probably told that those drugs are bad and that you can become dependent on them, so you steer clear. Why is alcohol any different? It's not, but that's not what you're told. It's legal and it's practically encouraged.

“I need it to relax”

Perhaps you can’t picture one evening on the sofa without a glass in your hand. Not the whole bottle necessarily, just “a glass to switch off.” Yet if you’d never started drinking, you wouldn’t need it to unwind. You would find other ways, as you did before alcohol was introduced into your life. Like people who have never drunk, and like those who have quit drinking. They happily enjoy their evening without alcohol, so why can't you?

“I need it to cope”

Stress, sadness, boredom - alcohol gets handed the job. But it doesn’t actually do the job. It postpones it. The feeling you tried to soothe is still waiting for you tomorrow, often with a side order of poor sleep and more anxiety. Why add to your stress with more awful feelings?

Social pressure isn’t proof

Friends may encourage you. Colleagues may expect you. Adverts will keep selling a story. None of that is proof that alcohol adds value to your life. It’s only proof that we’ve been conditioned to believe it does.

When you examine that conditioning, something changes. You realise you’re not missing out by removing alcohol; you’ve been missing out by including it.

What changes when the mindset changes

When you finally see alcohol as offering no real benefit, you stop negotiating with it. You stop counting the days and start enjoying them.

• Evenings feel calmer.

• Sleep deepens.

• Mornings begin earlier with more energy.

• Real confidence grows from within.

• Relationships improve because you’re always present.

• Consistency means you make better decisions

• You trust yourself again.

  
  

That’s not fantasy. It’s what happens when the internal story changes from “I can’t live without it” to “I don’t need it.”

You are more than a drink

You are a complete human being. You do not need to drink or inhale substances that do not nourish your body. Whether that be ultra-processed food, tobacco, vapes or alcohol.

As a child, you lived quite happily before alcohol entered the scene. You learned, loved, worked, rested, danced and played all without it. That person is still there. She hasn’t gone anywhere.

I used to think smoking and drinking were two very different beasts. Then I came across Allen Carr’s idea about smoking: the reason you need to smoke is because you smoke.

The longer I’ve been alcohol-free, the more I see the parallel. If you had never drunk alcohol, you wouldn’t need it to relax, to celebrate, to drown your sorrows. You would simply live those moments and deal with them, which you absolutely can do again.

“Why do you drink?”

The honest answer is, “Because you drink.”

Habits reinforce beliefs, and beliefs reinforce habits. The way out is to break the loop at the belief level.

When you understand alcohol for what it truly is, that is the day you will happily never drink again.

You don’t have to be a “big drinker” for alcohol to get in your way. If it takes up mental space, shapes your evenings, or asks you to negotiate with yourself, it’s costing you something.

You are so much more than alcohol. Change the mindset, and the rest follows.

Break the cycle.

Choose freedom and live the life that’s been waiting for you.