Alcoholism might just be a symptom of something else. It's not really addictive but very helpful when trying to escape something. I used to drink a lot and the thought of not drinking would just lead me to continue drinking (thinking of drinking as a problem was an extra stress). I added positive things like taking vitamins, eating better and exercise for general health so I could recover better after drinking so I could continue drinking. But eventually the good shit I was doing just out weighed the bad shit and I got tired of killing my brain cells so really limit it now. Hope this info helps and they can be in a slightly better situation this time next year!