When I decided to stop drinking, the first 8 months were the hardest part. My brain was hard-wired with the expectation that 'fun' equated to being in situation

When I decided to stop drinking, the first 8 months were the hardest part. My brain was hard-wired with the expectation that 'fun' equated to being in situations where alcohol was acceptable. Only there where laughter and social ease was abound due to alcohol, was where the fun was. It turns out the opposite is in fact the case. The thin facade of fun at gatherings, places, situations that are dominated by alcohol were really sad substitutes for life. The realisation that what I was doing was running from life, not partaking in it, is how I discovered the world beyond the veil of hangovers and manufactured interactions. Frankly no piece of advice here will help you. Each to their own, as life is varied and rich for each, alone, as they see it. What will help you, is making the choice that the person you were when drinking is not the person you will be today. If you have fucked up badly while drunk; that memory, if you have it, is the most powerful reminder you can carry. Don't be that guy again. Then it will begin to fall into place; you will become that man that lives life. Its not fun. Don't expect to start having fun any time soon either. You literally have to fight your own brain and wiring. You're going to have to treat yourself like a naughty kid who needs to be reprimanded often, to stay away from the pit. You will lose a lot of friends, but friends aren't made at bars. Fun is who you are, not what you do. Life is going to happen with or without you, so make sure you are present when it does. Eventually you replace the thing you revere now, with a reverence for life, and that is where the greatest fun lies.