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Blame
- The Devil Made Me Do It-
Just a little follow up on one of my favorite alcoholic crash dummies, Amy Winehouse, who has once again made the news with a spectacular failure. She has added to a recent quick succession of aborted outings and performances by throwing a tantrum in the recording studio, smashing her guitar, and blaming her drug use on the “devil” (see picture). Hard to believe it was only nine months ago I used her as an example in the Alcoholic’s Playbook in which she seemed convinced enough of her ability to control her addiction that she would be able to throw one last hurrah.
Click “Read more” to continue… - 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.
Click "Read more" to continue...
