Justfor1, yes, he has mental health issues. He has been on an antidepressant for a long time and he and his family are convinced that it is responsible for his alcoholism. They said he was a social drinker before but after starting the AD, he lost control of his drinking.
So yesterday, he announced to me that he has quit taking his AD cold turkey and that will solve his drinking problem.
I have heard people say that ADs make people drink more. But given his mental health issues, I think he really needs some kind of medication. And who knows what will happen now that he quit his meds cold turkey.