My friend always drinks by himself, and we used to tease him that "One is an alcoholic and two is a party." He would get kind of upset, but only for the fact of being called an alcoholic. Finally, one night, I went up to his room for something, and I found him drinking by himself, just while watching TV. So, I asked him why he drank alone. At first, he gave me this I-Know-You-What-You-Are-Getting-At Look, but I pressed a little harder and he finally gave me an adequate answer, quite similar to Xamot's. He said that it help him think about things. He just relaxes and lets go. He doesn't have to, but he wants to. He said it is no different that sitting down with a cup of tea. And, the weirdest part about the whole situation was that I actually understood him. It made sense.