Once I learned that Williams was drinking again, it didn’t surprise me that he committed suicide. Active alcoholics die ugly deaths. To me, Williams’ situation shows the tragedy of taking something as critical (to an alcoholic) as sobriety for granted after 20 years of sobriety. You don’t get sober and then everything is OK. You have to work at it year after year. But once you stop working at it, its easy to go back, with ugly results.
Which is the cause, and which is the effect? It’s not easy to tell.
People with mental health problems often self-medicate with alcohol, or street drugs. (Yes, that usually only makes things worse.)
Well you got right 99 and 9/10ths per cent friend which is more than most do.Good on you. You have to work at sobriety one day at a time because all anyone has, alcoholic or not is the 24 hours God gives us everyday. Williams was either unable or willing to that. The other dangerous fallacy is the ‘’relapse’’ bit. There is no such thing as a ‘’relapse’’. If I went out a drank right now after 24 years sober it’s because I’m still drinking and the previous 24 years was just me waiting to get the bartenders attention , as it were, or finding my car keys to drive to the liquor store.
Assuming that he was indeed sober for 20 years. The thought of having to do all the work all over again just to get sober again, couldn’t have helped his state of mind.