Addiction is something that is rarely talked about. Such reticence is not surprising since most addictions generally invite social disapproval. The linkage between addictions and social disapproval is, however, unfortunate because it prevents the addict from seeking timely help in treating what is essentially a complex illness. The absence of medical and psychological treatment, in turn, often leads to serious consequences. Indeed, this chain of events is precisely what occurred in the case of a close family friend, Bob, who was addicted to alcohol. Bob began his journey towards alcoholism when he was just a teenager. Although he had heard about the harmful effects of alcohol, he was confident that he would be able to prevent any habit from getting out of control. This confidence, coupled with the irresistible pleasure of an alcoholic high, resulted in Bob spending many an evening with his friends knocking back beer after beer. Till this...

By this time, Bob had graduated to hard liquor and was clearly no longer in control of his habit. Bob's lack of control and drunken behavior finally led to his friends avoiding him. Perhaps the pain of social rejection acted as a catalyst to make Bob drink even more because the buzz of alcohol offered a way of escape from his emotional problems. Perhaps, Bob began drinking heavily in the first place to forget the pain of feeling neglected by his parents. Be that as it may, my friend Bob had become an alcoholic by the time he reached the age of twenty-one.
I finally learnt of Bob's problems with the bottle because of his close association with my family, which began when we were just kids in…