Reply #3: People are strange.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

Look, I used to have a fairly hardcore alcohol problem, along with a lot of other self-destructive behaviors and at some point you just stop caring about yourself and stop *valuing* yourself. The thing that changed it for me was the realization of how much my surviving parent and my sister truly cared about me and considered me an important, even inspirational part of their lives. So out of a desire not to hurt them, I stopped. And after that I started actually valuing myself again and didn't want to do those self-destructive things any more - not for their sake even, but for my own. It was difficult, and I will probably have difficulty with it every day for the rest of my life. But I care far too much about myself and my family at this point to go back to living that way. Look, it's *easy* to live without a care for yourself or others. It's seductive, and really it's not even worth trying to explain to anyone who hasn't been in that place. But the results of being a loving, caring, supportive member of a family or community are in and of themselves far more rewarding than any self-destruction. I only hope that I have enough of my liver and lungs left to live well into my 70s and get to play with my (theoretical) grandkids.