Hi @CANDC and thank you for your reply.
Probably my post appeared to be focused mainly on drugs but that's really not the problem. After years of being sober I have no problem waiting some time more until I am sure I want to take drugs again. The real problem is the feeling I discussed in my post. The more answers I receive the more I am convinced that there is no solution to this. Therapists and lay people all seem to sidestep that issue by focusing on something else, more external, to do, but that feeling remains.