[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Baker: I'm an alcoholic

At 11:40 AM 9/11/2003 -0400, Kestutis Kveraga wrote: 
--- You wrote:
The one comment that did worry me was his emphatic denial of ever having
suffered from depression.  While it may be true, he admits to things like
drinking away the pain of his bad performanes.  In the past, he seemed to
set himself up for failure, having inflated expectations and then reacting
badly when things weren't working out the way he had envisioned.  So I
think he has some mental issues, perhaps not depression but something
else.  Other quotes like saying his rehab was the best experience of his
life bring up bad memories of how getting traded to the Celtics was the
best thing to happen to him.
--- end of quote ---

That's the thought that came to my mind when I was reading it. Does anyone have
any insight/info about this depression issue?

Dunno if they're exactly insights, but I do have both alcoholics and diagnosed depressives in my close friend/family ciricles...
First, depression is a word that gets **far** too loosely thrown about, much as alcoholism does, in society today. Which creates confusion. There is a real difference between just being down with 'the blues' and full blown clinical depression, just as not everyone who drinks too much is an alcoholic. Depression ranges into the point where just doing anything becomes an impossibility, very literally physically insurmountable solely because of the depression and the barriers that creates. It's worlds different than just letting things get to you too much, as we all do at times, if not on as public a stage as Baker.

I have to believe with the care he's had the past few months that if there was true full blown clinical depression, then that would have been diagnosed and he would have been treated for it as well. While if he's gotten past the denial to really believe he's an alcoholic vs just paying lip service to maybe having some problems (trust me, a HUGE step), as it honestly seems, it really seems unlikely he would still be allowed to be in denial about having full blown depression. There may have been a temporary form of it as a consequence of the drinking, but with a chicken or egg aspect - that he started with just 'the blues' but dealing with it by diving into a bottle helped make the blues into something closer to what's called Situational Depression - deriving from seriously difficult life events- or even Co-occurring Depression, which tends to occur along with other medical illnesses, usually ones creating some sort of disabiliy or life limitation. Still, the base problem could be the alcoholism driving that, making any borderline apparent depression more symptom of the alcoholism than problem of its own.

As to mental issues - he's admitted to a big one: alcoholism. It's not the booze, it's its effect on you and control of you. FWIW, from more extensive than I'd like close experience of alcoholics, Baker's story rang **really** true. From starting with yeah, I may drink a bit but I'm not like THOSE people who have a real problem on down... I'm also VERY happy for him that apparently the reports of liver damage were wrong or it was reversible.

There are what are known as functioning alcoholics, which is what he seems to have been. His problems really may have been primarily that, with an associated better need to deal with the excuses he found to drink. I think that's what's confusing - an alcoholic finds reasons to drink in things such as those described above without being clinically depressed over them. Which can make them overwhelming, just as they might be to a depressive, but the core problem is the alcoholism not a chemical imbalance based depression.

Who knows about Baker? One can only hope...He seems like a
good guy who's too sensitive for his own good. I hope the fans at Fleece take
it easy on him until he gets his sea legs.

Everyone, but EVERYONE says he is a good guy and is pulling for him because of it. I think he'll get a fair amount of applause at the start, (with a few inevitable boos mixed in), because of going public with things like Shira's story. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll get cut a lot of slack after that if he doesn't really look a lot better, based one some of the idiots I see/listen to at the games.

Kim