My Best Friend

has just called me; We haven't spoken in about a year, I guess, and thats cool - sometimes thats how our thing goes, but we can pick up the phone any time day or night and carry on or call for help like nothings happened. THATS true friendship.

Anyhoo, to draw a very rough sketch, he's a clinically depressed alcoholic that is pathologically scared of success and so will sabotage any good thing ( job, relationship, health, etc ). This then reinforces his psychosis that he is not worthy of happiness of any kind. He's a fantastic friend, an excellent chef, superb artist and was on the way to being a good counsellor (I've always found that ironic - the best doctors are the unhealthiest; The best athletes scoff Mars Bars. You get the idea).

So he calls and he is in trouble; Just come around after a marathon bender, puking cos its reacting with his medication, but won't let me go to him. Finally persuaded him to seek medical help. This has really scared him proper this time around. So much so that he has come straight out with this; It normally takes gentle interrogation to get him to admit having a beer! I'm worried. I'll call him back later...