I'd say hold on to that fact. Heavy drinking is very common with JWs and has been a large part of every fest I've been a part of. But alcohol is just self medication to help you stop "feelings." And we all have a lot of feelings when we leave the mother ship. Feelings of disbelief, denial, then anger, etc. The biggest two are betrayal and depression, these two can take a long time to peel off. Alcohol makes these worse and never allows you to deal with those feelings.
I'm not saying thats why everyone drinks, from what I have been told from professionals, there are three types of brains. The first person takes a drink and loves it so keeps up until they are buzzing. That intense pleasurable high becomes something they chase the rest of their life but never achieve. These people are alcoholics. Their brain is wired this way.
The second group of people take a drink and think, hmm, ok thats nice, and they can take it or leave it. These people are usually social drinkers, and not normally the type that drink to excess. Most people from the first group claim to belong to this second group. Again, its brain chemistry, or wiring.
The last group, of which I am one, unfortunately, takes a drink and either says, eww, or in my case, "whats all the fuss about?" I have also drank to the so called "buzzed" state, but in my case it is not pleasurable, it actually feels uncomfortable. So I don't do it. In fact I rarely drink. It just isn't enjoyable. Again, my brain is just wired that way. And my brain chemistry is no better or worse than anyone else's, I might add, I'm just laying out the facts not making judgements.
So, like most things, it is not about morals, like we were taught all our lives. Its not even about choice, though I suppose that enters into it at a point. Its about who you are on a cellular level. Some people are just wired to be able to drink to excess, and the more often they do it, the more it takes them to catch that buzz.
Me, I could smell a beer cap and catch a buzz after all this time (no not literally), but if I drank 6 scotches I would be in hospital that much is certain.
Anyway, my point is, don't think that you have to to be cool.
Ada