Honestly, I will tell you one thing: For sure there have been some drunks forever, since the "invention" of alcohol - though, the drunks of today are a result of capitalism, if you dig deep down enough. Anf if you do, you will see that its mostly money & material issues which brings people into extremes, in which then they will take the bottle. For mens in society (which is the by far bigger parts of drunks), these things are usually around losing the job, losing the partnership etc. The classic ones.

Regarding OP: Thanks for sharing your story! And you can be very VERY proud that you managed this that specific way - great!