Drink, drugs and self-destructive behaviour really is not the answer, ultimately the combination makes life so much worse. I quit drugs in '88 and stopped drinking 2 years later. At the time 8 pints and 8 double whiskys was a standard night and I never got drunk. I wasn't physically dependent, mentally I was using both as self-medication to override chronic Depression and crippling Anxiety. In all honesty neither drink nor drugs helped at all - it just masked my issues and made them worse.

I was hospitalised with a breakdown when my drinking was at it's worse (after I had quit drugs), which showed me my lifestyle was no solution. A few months later, when I was stronger and I was on some meds which helped a little, I stopped drinking cold turkey. I've never gone back, even the thought or smell nauseates me now.

It is always going to be an easier life without self-destructive tendencies. Do try to channel that energy into something positive rather than letting yourself deteriorate. Try not to waste the years I did and suffer the physical damage I caused myself following this behaviour.

Dave.