Dear Louise: I would love to stop drinking, but don't know how

"I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t receive the odd comment or sideways glance when I first gave up alcohol, but I will say that your true friends aren’t going to dump you"

Louise O'Neill, author. Photograph Moya Nolan

Hi Louise, 

I don't know how to deal with the pressures of drinking. I always drink too much when I go out and I hate the way I feel the following day. I get panic attacks and beat myself up for wasting my time being hungover and miserable.