What are some lies you told yourself that kept you drinking?

I don't often see this discussed but I find it was absolutely core to me continuing drinking and breaking the illusion of these lies important to changing my mindset, enabling me to not really miss it when I stopped. A great debater, like a devil on my shoulder, entered my mind every evening and they'd happily lie to win the debate.

I'll start:

- I'm self medicating - Convinced myself I needed it like medicine due to being a tense person, possible due to some neurodivergence. Much like the next issue, I think this was a circular issue. The tension of habit, of telling myself in the morning "no" then arguing with myself later in the day.

- I always get anxious in the evenings about 7pm - Pretty sure this was a circular psychological issue. Odd how it often ended once I had bought the booze but before I had taken a sip.

- Need it to sleep - This seems to be an issue caused by the alcohol itself because, before you get it out of your system it is hard to get to sleep but 2 weeks later and you sleep like a baby. Sure, it knocks you out, however, the quality of sleep is questionable - much more likely to be tired in the day, after lunch etc or wake up prematurely.

- Cure for boredom - In hindsight, pretty sure I was more prone to boredom and less comfortable sitting in it because the chemicals in my brain were getting fucked every evening from the alcohol. Also, because I was spending half the day recovering, I wasn't getting out as much or getting enough exercise to give my mind the right balance when I was chilling at home.

- The ultimate trump card - NIHILISM, "nothing matters and we're all gonna die so fuck it, who cares?" Self explanatory.

I'm sure there are a ton more I've forgotten about for the time being. What lies did the great debater, the devil on your shoulder, tell you to keep you drinking?