Just know that there are people that love you. I'm an alcoholic. I have been since I lost my best friend in the Marine Corps. I finally asked for help a few weeks ago, and the support has been overwhelming. I know there's a few of you fellow vets out there who are prideful like me, and think we can conquer everything ourselves, but just simply asking for help is all you need to do. I had heard horror stories about the VA, but, everyone I've talked to so far has been incredibly helpful, and I'll be checking into the hospital tomorrow before I kill myself by drowning in alcohol. The help is out there, guys, you just have to ask for it. I'm ready for the fight ahead, and you need to be too. We need all hands on deck, and if you're not well, you need to get well. All the best - Felonious
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There are too many who seek chemical imbibing as acceptable escapism from their issues and lifestyle. I get ragged on by weedheads all the time for pointing out that their consumption is just as much a social ill as other commercially appealing drugs.
Because honestly, if their substance was so beneficial to society, why is weedhead culture so narcissistic and hedonistic? Where are their contributions? Why do they treat libertarianism as a cynical means to their desired end that they see as disposable, rather then being genuinely interested in the philosophy? Where's the thought put towards the health of the commons?
Substance abuse is just one head of a many-headed hydra from a society that has forgotten moderation in its shortsightedness, and induces depression through supersensory overload from indulging in vice.
Yep, got to the point where I couldn't even drive down a hill without my chest tightening up due to not being drunk. All of this shit is poison.
It's been really disheartening just seeing how little gratitude Armed Force veterans receive from the public besides coupon booklets and a monotone "thank you for your service." Can't imagine what shit the current enlisted are undergoing. I can fully emphasize with and understand why you imbibed, since society at large is still largely unsympathetic to the plights vets undergo as they are discharged. (Really, I view modern society to be incredibly psychopathic in general as our ability to put ourselves into each other's shoes diminishes. I get looked at weird when I mention that I'm upset at the Syrian conflict being re-escalated, or suspected of having ulterior and selfish motives. Instead of, well, being upset at human life needlessly wasted. "Don't think about it," I receive from others as "advice.") I can't approve of your method of dealing with it, since your health suffered for it, but I can understand that your life could be swung off balance from this development and you should have had in-person support available for you in place, the lack thereof which probably was the impetus for your alcoholism.
Everybody hollers "GO TO THERAPY" as a convenient deferment to collective responsibility. "Just see a therapist" as a nice-easy catch-all, don't think about those iffy details like if the therapist is sane him or herself, if your coverage can manage without raising premiums or impacting your social standing, if the therapist is even sympathetic to your plight and doesn't spend the entire session talking down to you for not taking their putdowns to heart. Naturally, rehabilitation is the first step and it always helps to find sufficient support but the trouble is getting that high-quality support in the first place.That's the part nobody wants to discuss because nobody wants to address the elephant in the room, human nature.
I can't be physically there for you (there goes the old human desire of "wanting to be everywhere at once"), so all I can offer is my positive reinforcement and my sharing in your grief. I cannot guarantee that your health will improve, but I certainly want you to have the strength to get your life back on track and for you to be able to live on and honor your friend's memory in better health, even in these troubling times. And I WANT more individuals out there to understand your situation and assist you properly instead of being dismissive.