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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