I was bullied in elementary and junior high (Well we have slightly different school system but maybe that's best match) I was the weird and goofy kid and never could fit in really well. Not very seriously bullied, though, but enough to build me lots of anxiety around age 10 to 12. At age of 13 we start our "junior high". First autumn i was quite seriously bullied by guys year ahead of me. It was extremely stressful time, they might even appear to my home door... I was safe nowhere. Thank god they got bored and probably found someone else...

At age 14-15, when testosterone kicks in, I started drinking and smoking and became one on the cool guys. I really enjoyed my new imago... Thank god i never became a bully myself. I felt i don't have to get my revenge. I was against bullying all the way.

So this made me a party drinker, and as i got older, parties got heavier. When my first bipolar symptoms started to appear around mid 20's i started sort of self medicating. I had lots of racing thoughts which i would shut down by knocking myself out by heavy drinking. It wasn't about parties anymore....

I don't know if bullying made me an alcoholic in the end, but for sure it pushed me to that direction...