It’s hard to say. Because I don’t necessarily know when he’s drinking, I can’t tell when or how much it’s affecting him. He has problems with anger and emotional regulation. Is it alcohol? A personality disorder? A combination? It’s hard to tell. But there’s a possibility that, sometimes, his “episodes” aren’t chemically enhanced. I can suspect but can’t know.
I was wrong in my guess that he lied about the baseball scrimmage the other day. Could there still have been drinking involved? Absolutely, especially considering the huge change in mood from before he left and after I got back.
I do know there’s a problem with drinking just based on the drinking and driving, the hiding/lying, the defensiveness and deflection. But I can’t quite determine if there’s escalation going on.