>I have been fired from my job.
>
>The reason is my drinking problem has come back with a vengeance. I can't explain why. I missed last Thursday and Friday and then again today due to drinking. It's a really rotten problem to have. My boss said I am the best programmer he has ever seen but they can't go on like this. I can't blame him.
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>The girls don't know yet. They are going to be very disappointed. Moving here has been the biggest decision they have made in their young lives. And now they are going to be worried. S**t! I have let them down.
>
>Mike, I have been in your shoes....not specific shoes, but same type. I hate to play "true confession" up here, but in this case, it might help.
>
>For many many years I experienced the symptoms of severe depression. Unfortunately, I grew up in a house where you didn't go to the doctor unless you broke your arm or had a temperature of 105 - so I made the mistake for years of believing that I could conquer it on my own. That can work for short periods of time, but the vicissitudes of life have a way of cropping up at bad times - and if you're head isn't on straight to begin with, bad times in life can really knock you down even harder.
>
>So (after threats from my wife), I finally got help. Now, it took awhile to get a medication and treatment that worked, and so at first I actually fell a step BACKWARDS. But eventually things worked out. Treatments (for depression, alcoholism, and other addictions) are not cures - they simply help to get your thought processes more level, to help aid you in your decision-making process.
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>I don't like to tell this story to anyone other than my closest friends, but I figured it might help you.
>
>So f*ck Tom Cruise, and f*ck the people who say that alcoholism is something you can simply battle with more discipline. You have a DISEASE - GET IT TREATED BEFORE YOU HURT SOMEONE OR YOUSELF. You've been foolishly irresponsible - not for the fact that you've been unable to deal with this yourself, but because you've been unwilling to seek help. But you can change that - you CAN'T cure yourself, but you can find people who can help you. There is ZERO shame in admitting you have a big problem - and respect (including self-respect) to be gained by seeking help.

Thank you for the kind words.

Does this mean you are back?