Predicting Alcoholism
People who become alcoholics later in life usually do not have a close emotional connection with their parents, especially their mothers. They tend to be people who consider themselves very independent – not needing anyone. Of course, everyone needs help and support. Many of these types go on to become ‘stars’ at work though having wrecked personal lives – bad marriages, no real friends. To further compound this problem, people naturally come to have high expectations of this type because of their high level of performance in the workplace. This is a recipe for psychological disaster. Behavior such as this also tends to get reinforced by those around this type. Because it is difficult to get to know this type of person in any meaningful way, what they are feeling or thinking is often a mystery. The pressure to live up to ‘star’ status in the workplace combined with personal isolation and depression in their personal life lead to the familiar pattern of alcoholism. Alcohol becomes a band-aid on a bullet hole. Read more