I had stopped drinking.
It had decreased naturally, then when I became aware of the hereditary nature of the phenomenon and the place it held in my social life—groups are built on addictions, I realized—I almost completely stopped.
I drink from time to time. "For special occasions."
But I'm realizing that even then, it brings me nothing.
The most powerful and funniest conversations I've had recently took place without a drop of alcohol.
And if you need to drink to enjoy the people around you, it's the people around you that need changing.