I actually think we do a great disservice to people who are dealing with trauma by using alcohol because we stigmatize it instead of treating it like what it is: self-medication.
It is just another thing a lot of people do to cope with stress, pain, unhappiness etc.
In some ways it's effective, unfortunately it can also come with a lot of nasty side effects like hangovers, damaged relationships, etc.
When you view alcohol as a medication you can then compare it to other medications. The pharmaceutical antidepressants, anxiolytics etc. are far from perfect, but they almost universally have less dangerous side effects than heavy alcohol usage. If someone's using alcohol to cope there's nothing intrinsically immoral or shameful about that, but if the side effects are manifesting there's probably a better medication out there.
It is just another thing a lot of people do to cope with stress, pain, unhappiness etc.
In some ways it's effective, unfortunately it can also come with a lot of nasty side effects like hangovers, damaged relationships, etc.
When you view alcohol as a medication you can then compare it to other medications. The pharmaceutical antidepressants, anxiolytics etc. are far from perfect, but they almost universally have less dangerous side effects than heavy alcohol usage. If someone's using alcohol to cope there's nothing intrinsically immoral or shameful about that, but if the side effects are manifesting there's probably a better medication out there.