Alcohol, and the need to drink, can be part of surviving mental illness. I did it so I'd
I'd do it often with one of my housemates for the social aspect. I'd do it to get drunk enough to sleep for an hour. I'd do it to get a break from the pain of my illness.
Sometimes, upon waking in the morning, I'd go buy beer or wine and drink for an hour so I could sleep again. I'd do this for short periods of time, a week or two, then I'd stop.
I quit drinking alcohol altogether after a few years of this routine. I never went back to it.