I have a policy of drinking alternate years. I tried alternate months first. Didn't work for me. I spent most of my off months longing for them to end so I co

I have a policy of drinking alternate years. I tried alternate months first. Didn't work for me. I spent most of my off months longing for them to end so I could enjoy another on month. It was too much effort. So I switched to year on, year off. This works. The drinking horizon is so far away that there's no pressing anticipation. I know I'll get to drink again some day and enjoy great IPAs and wine. But for now, I'm off. I'm going to miss wine with my meals and lubricated socializing, and that's ok. I've put my drinking in check. I own it. It doesn't own me. I felt I had to do this because when I drink, I drink too much. I consider "too much" to be any amount that impairs my sleep, which for me is often as little 2 or 3 drinks. During my on years, like the current one, I'm pestered by a mental dialog about whether I should drink now, am I drinking too much, why did I drink so much last night, should I just have one, well maybe two... This undermines the harmony of my life. But I live with it so I can enjoy drinking. It's a sort of evil pact to preserve a pleasure. The upside to alternate years is that I can really observe clearly the difference in my behavior and quality of life. Life really does change for the better in my off years. I do different things, spend time with different friends. It's a different approach to life. But I would never plan to go a month trip through Italy on an off year. On and off years have their own special uses. Like you, I'm also a runner. I rarely miss a day. And there is no doubt that my running suffers when I drink. The upside to being a daily runner, at least for me, is that running takes priority over almost everything, including drinking. So even in on years, my running helps keep the drinking in check. I wonder if anyone has found a drug, legal or illegal, that mimics the positive affects of alcohol but has little or no downside, like hangover and addiction?