I never much enjoyed the act of drinking itself, but my social life was pretty much nonexistent without it. It was predictable and I started hating it - go out, drink, have pissing matches about who drank more, talk about inane things (with exceptions, but I also always hated the drunk honesty, which is a minor contributing factor here) and then regret losing an entire day to your hangover.

Do you have history of alcohol abuse in your family? I was “fortunate” to witness it firsthand and, over time, I got afraid of losing control over myself, because I noticed some… familiar personality _quirks_ that would warrant it.

Neither of those issues really pushed me to stop, but it all became a perfect storm when I took up running and found out that a friend is a runner. It spawned a positive feedback loop - I wanted to improve and we celebrated each other’s victories, no matter how small (with pats on back, not bottles). It is a hobby that is not conducive to hangovers, so I began the process of weaning myself off.

On the other hand, I have certain intolerances/allergies that also conflict with indulging.

I guess my point is… death by a thousand papercuts. Any and every reason to abstain helps with losing bad habits.

And _never_ hate yourself for slipping up. Look into eating disorders - the compensatory behaviors following that are what cause you to spiral down.