If you drink alcohol or if you take some kind of drug regularly, try the following thought experiment,

what events do you most look forward to?

I will bet you there are the events where you get to do these things.

So if you drink alcohol, you look forward to dinner time or you look forward to that party that's coming up

when you get to go out with your friends at the bar.

To see how artificial it is resolved the next one you go to,

you're not going to drink at all or you're not going to do the drug.

And now ask yourself how much am I looking forward to that event?

You'll find not at all.

This creates a conundrum.

If I give up these sources of artificial pleasure that can lead to addiction and desensitize me or just bring misery down on me later by missing them,

then I'm miserable because I don't get to socialize with anybody.

I don't have fun.

I don't go out breaking addictions.

It's very hard not just because you have to break the physical addiction,

but because you then also have to change your lifestyle to the lifestyle that you would be happy without that substance.

For example, if I want to drink because I get to hang out with friends and be social

and I do that enough and pretty soon I'm hanging out with a whole bunch of friends that I actually would not hang out with sober.

I can't tolerate these people sober.

I can't tolerate these topics sober.

I can't tolerate these venues sober.

I can only do a drunk.

...