August 2020 was the last time I got drunk, and I have only had a drink twice since then.

Surprisingly, many countries opened back in the middle of a pandemic, and I was able to have some decent wine at a wedding in Italy. Once I got back to my flat, social drinking was not much of a thing. Alcohol quality wasn't excellent, and nobody around me wasn't drinking. Quitting was easy. It wasn't a need.

I felt lighter. I slept better. I felt better

There were no health reasons to stop drinking. It just happened. Somehow through a couple of lockdowns, I lost the value I attached to the experience. My sleep improved, and I felt better. Lockdowns continued, and it was easy not to think about it as I did not feel a need to drink.

It took just a week or two to start feeling better about myself. Besides how I felt, I think it gave me a lot to think about the role of the pint in a British pub. As things opened up again and I found myself surrounded by colleagues drinking while I had my glass of water, I realised that I often used the glass as a reflex to fill the silence.

I am still learning that I don't need a drink at a pub

I often still feel that I have to get an alcoholic beverage or a glass of water to keep me from talking when nobody is saying anything.

Slowly I am learning to be there and be present without the need to fill the silence. I don't need to use a drink as an excuse for my silence.

Drinking might satisfy a need you: try to understand what is it, and you might change your relationship with it.