Re: Wrenn

I probably would have an alcohol problem if I didn't smoke cigarettes. I know they're bad for my health, but they're what help me deal with my dysfunctional family without "pulling the plug". Of course there are good reasons for society to yell about alcohol and cigarettes, but, we are a "killer race" and, if we didn't have these vices (emotional outlets) violence would probably double. I'm surprised I never became a teenage alcoholic. People thought I had a drinking problem, but it wasn't a "problem", it's not so much that I enjoyed it, it was actually a kind of "solution" because, if I didn't have the alcohol in me then, I probably would have "pulled the plug". I don't live in the same state as my family, but, even last year, even with the cigarettes, I was considering alcohol, just to help me deal with my dysfunctional family (I couldn't believe it, I learned to hate the alcohol habit). My stepfather returned to drinking during the last two years of his life in order to deal with reality. Everybody got on his case for that because 10 years earlier he almost drank himself to death and he was a chemical engineer for 20 years and was already a basket case from the chemicals. But I didn't get on his case, I hardly mentioned it to him because, if I'm having trouble dealing with the family, he's right in the thick of things. If he didn't have the alcohol habit, either the stress would have killed him, or he might have "pulled the plug". Alcohol has got a bad reputation (of course for good reason), but the people who yell the loudest (the self righteous) about it, are the reason why we need it (to protect ourselves from their anal retentive insanity). Sometimes it helps to realize that stigmas are only self righteous. When a person is prone to suicidal thoughts, it just follows that they are not going to care about their health or quality of life. They lose their "sense of happiness" and care only about "peace of mind". I became a workaholic for 19 years because I never really believed in suicide, so instead I just gave up on life and worked it away, but when the company collapsed, I found that I collected so much junk in my apartment and that every item represented my interests in life. I learned that it would be possible to enjoy life if only I would do something about it. Maybe you can show your brother that he can enjoy life and help him regain a "sense of happiness". It takes a strong character to stop a habit, but many times it's not a habit, it's a way to cope (I quit the cigarette habit many times, but, now it's not a habit, it's a way to cope, now, quitting has become the habit). Not everybody can quit the way you did, that kind of strength is rare. I know I said I wasn't going to talk about the "brother" thing, but, it's not that bad. Tweet