I was having dinner with a group of sober people recently when somebody made an interesting observation. While telling some humorous stories from their days before recovery, they came up with the idea that maybe alcoholics stop maturing emotionally around the time their drinking becomes a serious problem.
The example went something like this: If someone starts drinking heavily at 22 and gets sober at 32, they may still have the emotional maturity of a 22-year-old. Meanwhile, their friends have spent ten years growing up, learning how to handle relationships, responsibilities and the other challenges of adulthood.
It sounded plausible. I’ve certainly met people whose emotional reactions seem considerably younger than their chronological age. I’ve also met plenty of people who don’t drink and behave like teenagers, so alcohol clearly doesn’t have a monopoly on immaturity.
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