>>1800you sound like one of my closest friends, he had a "slump" like that and slowly went from drinking a bit more in the evenings / weekends to being a functional alkie. Still goes to work and makes good money though, and doesn't get shitfaced drunk so he's fine as far as life goes. Just that without drinking he feels that there's no point in living. Hang in there, hope you're feeling alright.
IMO, as long as you don't take it too far it's not necessarily the worst thing you could be doing with your life. Almost everyone has some sort of sin or habit that they fall back on when times get tough, be it gambling, drinking, smoking, w/e.
Personally used to smoke for a few years before switching to vaping, now I go after nicotine all day like a fiend. Gets my mind off things and helps me relax and accept life.
Also, wanted to say, that "normal life feels sickly" thing is spot on. Couldn't have put it into words better myself, I've spent a lot of time thinking about things like that but that sums it up nicely.