Not Cynical, Just Predictable

I guess you could call it a justified cynicism, but I rarely give much credit to the statements made by alcoholics and addicts that are making excuses or placing blame on others for their disease. After all, as Stephen king says- it is the liar’s disease.

So when Bethlehem, PA firefighter Howard J. Aubrey sues the city for causing his alcoholism… consider me a skeptic. Read the news story from the link provided first, and then I’ll give you the “more probable” version based on my experience as an alcoholic and working with alcoholics and addicts. Trust me, I have been taking notes and we are a fairly predictable lot.

Now here’s the way I see it: Mr. Aubrey was battling a substance abuse problem and may have already been a full fledged alcoholic when the environment at his work changed making it more difficult to cover his problem. In an effort to compensate, he went to the “good” doctor about his condition and then proceeded to abuse the drugs he was prescribed. This snowballed, led to increased drinking, and he finally hit rock bottom or as the story describes it, a complete breakdown.

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Aubrey claims he began suffering health problems including "extreme heartburn, shortness of breath, vomiting and extreme nervousness while at work" that spilled over into his private life, the suit alleges.~ PennLive

The quote above from the story sounds more of the problems of a functioning alcoholic rather than the problems of someone being driven to alcoholism, but the kicker of this story is that at no time does it mention that he was shackled to his position. No job is worth ruining one's life over... if it was that bad, why didn't he just leave?

My guess is that he was looking for an excuse to drink. OK, maybe that is a little cynical but I would still bet a dime to the dollar that I am correct because this is how we alcoholics historically act 99 percent of the time.

If my commentary seems offensive to you then I will make another guess, and that is you probably have never lived with or had an alcoholic in the family. Lucky you. My advice is go talk to an experienced recovering alcoholic or a family member in Al Anon before you make up your mind in this matter. It wouldn’t be the first or last time that I am wrong, but you can trust me when I say this behavior is straight out of the alcoholic’s playbook.