It made headlines around the world last week when Brad Pitt said he had started drinking again.
Whether or not Brad Pitt consumes alcohol makes no difference to me or my life. There’s no judgment here. He had been sober for seven years after saying he was “on his knees” due to alcoholism at the end of his marriage to Angeline Jolie. He attended AA meetings for 18 months. And he credited friend Bradley Cooper for helping him on his journey to sobriety. Now he’s no longer sober. He says he has to “be professional” about it and not drink too much.
Brad Pitt can do whatever Brad Pitt wants. But here’s the thing. People look up to him. He has a public profile and a huge platform. People listen when he speaks. And while he’s free to say anything he likes, it’s a bit concerning that some people might follow his lead. Some who aren’t in as much control over their drinking as Pitt says he is.
It Takes One to Know One
Alcoholics, of which I am a recovering one, often fool themselves that they can control their drinking. “I’ll just have one” can turn into becoming sloppy or blackout drunk. You don’t need to ask me how I know that. I’ve been asked what would happen if I started drinking alcohol again. I know exactly how it would go. I would enjoy myself for a few weeks, feeling good with a glass of wine with dinner and a beer on a hot day. And then one night it would progress and never stop progressing until I was over-consuming and embarrassing myself.
That might happen to Pitt as well. Then again, he might have it all completely under control. Not my pig, not my farm, but people who are trying to quit drinking are in a delicate state. There’s an inner battle raging between the knowledge that they’re powerless against alcohol and the wish to keep drinking. It’s what compels some people to stop for a while and start up again. They trick themselves (again, personal experience talking) that they could get a handle on it if they wanted to. They just don’t want to until they have a few more.
This really isn’t about whether or not Brad Pitt is on the wagon. It’s about a vulnerable person taking a lead from an influential celebrity and finding that they don’t have the same ability to manage the disease. The ability that Pitt believes he has, anyway, and for his sake, I hope he’s right.