Thank you for typing all that. Hope it’ll caution/help someone.
I’ve seen my friend having a stroke at 14 and neighbours I had known for 10+ years (rich folks, no worries in life) had their children taken away from them as a result of an addiction. Alcohol was always that first step. You should be glad you had not enough health/money to escalate and managed to stop yourself.
It is possible to find equilibrium with minor, non-class A drugs, or so is ‘known’ and actively promoted by the governments - ‘Do not regularly exceed ‘n’ units per day’, otherwise treat it as your best friend. We’ll keep it nicely taxed, but cheap and readily available. We’ll even foot the NHS bill and look after your health since we make more money that way (and keep you ‘happy’, placid and subdued).
To be frank i cannot even think of certain dishes without corresponding wine accompaniment. It is tough to go against the perceived ‘culture’. One can only hope to find another interests (like Bitcoin
) in time and concentrate on those.