this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2025
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I'm a recovering alcoholic and I've been sober now for over 30 years .... but what you just said is a common thing that is mentioned by the best treatment counsellors out there.
If you were an asshole when you were drinking ... chances are you, you will still be an asshole when you become sober ... you can be treated for any condition you may have, but if you are an underlying asshole to begin with, you'll stay that way no matter what happens to you.
And philosophers wouldn't be immune to that ... you can be a brilliant mind and know and remember many things ... but you can still be an asshole
Congrats on your sobriety.
Thanks
It was one of the funniest revelations I learned about in recovery and had it explained to me by one of the best treatment people I know and am lifelong friends with.
We were talking about a particular person who was going through recovery that we both knew ... the guy was a complete jerk, an asshole, completely without empathy or care for other people ... and he was an alcoholic. My treatment counsellor friend was helping him.
I said at one point that once this jerk does become sober, maybe he'll lighten up and be a little bit nicer to other people.
My treatment counsellor friend explained that what he was doing has nothing to do with a person's personality ... all they wanted to do was help him to stop drinking ... then he added ... "if he was an asshole before he got sober, he'll probably still be an asshole when he gets sober, our job is to help you to stop drinking, it has nothing to do with anything else about how a person is. I really don't care what he's like after, as long as he stops drinking."
That's practically the summary for Ron Livingston's tv-series Loudermilk.
That is an amazing show that all my recovery friends recommended and we all enjoyed. I'm even thinking of rewatching the whole series. One of the greatest disappointments in TV history for me was that they never continued the show. One of the best pieces of TV writing I've ever enjoyed.
It's not only serious in talking about the subjects but it's also really very funny and honest.
I recommend that everyone watch it as it's one of the best shows out there that deals with one of the most important ideas of society today .... soberity