Thread: sad tonight
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Old 10-23-2010, 09:58 AM
  # 70 (permalink)  
LexieCat
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
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It isn't that unusual for alcoholics to be suffering from depression and anxiety--but as long as they are drinking it's virtually impossible to determine what is due to the alcoholism and what is due to a chemical imbalance that would manifest without the alcohol. You drink that much and your brain is ALL screwed up.

I think most mental health providers who are really knowledgable about addiction wouldn't attempt to prescribe drugs for depression or anxiety for someone who is still using. Again, though, this is a 38 year old man--you can't control who he sees for mental health treatment, either.

He isn't so helpless and non-functional (as a schizophrenic might be) that he is literally incapable of finding shelter, food, and help for himself. It's a matter of motivation--if you aren't providing those things, his only option is to do it for himself. And he may have to go through some unpleasantness in his life before he realizes nobody else is going to "rescue" him.

You're getting stronger, Chicory. I can see it.
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