From personal experience, I have great empathy for anyone struggling with an alcohol or drug problem ( and believe it or not, there is a difference between heavy drinking and alcoholism ) within the confines of WT dogma, written and unwritten. They will tell someone what certainly is the problem; alcohol, will point to the solution; don't drink, but they have no program of on-going action to implement that very obvious solution. Regardless of what they say, continuing outside help is discouraged in a lot of congs.I asked an elder once what "program" he would recommend to someone who has a history of alcohol problems. He told me he would recommend "our" program, to which I asked, " and what is that program?" He answered, as if you don't know, "meetings, field service and study". I asked him if he knew of ANYONE who has gotten and stayed sober using that "program". Says he, "just you".Of course he and I already had many discussions on the things I was doing to "treat" my alcoholism, and I, through neccessity, distanced myself from that "program". I've seen way too many deaths of JW's living with untreated alcoholism (elders included), and I see more clearly why they can't/won't be more effective with such problems. Alcoholism has been called a "physical disease, requiring a spiritual solution ". The foundational bedrock of that solution is " rigorous honesty ", something that is hard to come by in the WT organization.
