Sometimes it's good to take a break, so that sounds like a great goal, Barney.
I know that going AF is hard, and I wish you the best of luck

I think that the lithium didn't work for me like it should have because of my drinking, but I was a bing-drinking alcoholic.

You should also avoid taking any NSAIDs like Ibuprofen, Aspirin, etc. because it will raise the amount of lithium in your system.
And drinking alcohol or not, drinking enough water is important when you are on lithium...