Exhausted, 2

I think I figured it out, thanks to Google. I'm not exactly happy with the answer. 

See, the days earlier this week when I was so wiped out were days where, the night before, I'd had no alcohol to drink. Absolutely none. After the second such day, Son 1 (who lives with me) wondered aloud whether my hitherto regular nightcaps were causing my exhaustion by interfering with my sleep, because he had recently read (surprise!) that alcohol can interfere with sleep. 

I said no, I didn't think there was a correlation, because I knew that the days when it was worst were days before which I had drunk nothing at all; and in fact I was already forming the opposite hypothesis. Thus for a couple nights I tried drinking the way I used to, ... and the next days I had more energy again!

Tonight I googled the combination of feeling exhausted while not drinking, and I discovered this is a well-known "thing." Several websites aimed at the newly-sober explained that it is common for people who have first given up alcohol to feel exhausted, unfocused, and disoriented for several weeks after their last drink! But they go on to say it's all worth it, because after that time is over they have so much more energy than before, and besides it's great to wake up every day without a hangover.

All of which is great.

Only ... what about those of us who don't wake up with hangovers? What about people (like me) who are used to drinking every day, but not so much that it causes a problem in our daily lives? It sounds like we have habituated our bodies to a certain amount of alcohol daily, so that we will suffer if we get less. Even though alcohol is a poison. But we don't experience it as a poison because mostly we don't drink that much at a time. 

"Habituated" sounds bad, only we don't get the satisfaction other habitués get, of knowing it's the right way to go.

If alcohol isn't really disrupting my life, is it worth it to go without? Just for the bare, abstract name of "sobriety"? 

Or should I just skip it all and go back to drinking?

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