How do I cope with kitchen stress without drinking after every shift?

You can hold your station now, but the yelling and the relentless pace are hollowing you out, and you are drinking more than you want just to come down afterward. First, respect yourself for saying that plainly. A lot of people in kitchens live exactly here and never admit it. Naming it is how it starts to change. The drinking makes sense. After that much adrenaline, your body is screaming to come down, and alcohol is the fastest switch you know. But it is a switch that takes more than it gives, and some part of you already knows that, or you would not be uneasy about it. The goal is not to shame yourself. It is to find other ways to land after service, so the bottle is not the only door out of the adrenaline. Try building a real wind-down that is not a drink: a walk, a shower, food that is not rushed, ten minutes of quiet before you go home. And be honest about the bigger question of whether this particular kitchen is worth what it is taking. One step: pick one night this week to come down a different way, and see how it feels. If the drinking scares you, that is reason enough to talk to someone about it, and that is strength, not weakness.