The Pain Body cycle

My husband bought up an interested point this morning. He wanted to know why when I have a drink that my pain issues subside. He thinks that my issues are in my head. What is the answer to that? He also thinks that I am depressed. I agree with that. No denying. I had to search for the right words. I told hm that drinking replaces medication. I told him that alcohol mask all pains. Physical as well as emotional. I choose to drink instead of taking meds primarily because of the side effects. I was prescribed Tramadol. I take it very infrequently and only for important events like traveling and or sleeping since it knocks you out. Now does that make it that I have no pain? He is concerned that I am not more active and that I spend a lot of time on the computer looking up hip and back cases. I am just one of those people that loves to read and learn more. I like to be informed so that when I visit a doctor I know what he is talking about. Plus it helps me to weed out the ones that just like to prescibe drugs when they do not know what to do with me.
My feeling is that I am caught up between a hip and back issue. I beleive some things that are beneficial to the hip is not for the back and vice versa. To make it even more complicated both hips do not agree with each other.
So what am I to do? Am I to accept this or should I keep trying to find answers? What would you do?
I read a great book that explains the pain body cycle and I have to agree that some of the examples are talking about me. But does the will to get better part of the pain body cycle or is it separate? I thought if I just let it be I would be giving up.