“bad kid.” Same goes for drug abuse, and maybe other addictions as well.

The older I get and the more I learn about mental illness, the more convinced I am that substance abuse is often a direct result of undiagnosed and/or untreated depression or other forms of mental illness. People will often resort to alcohol or drugs because they are essentially self-medicating, even if they don’t realize that this is what they are doing.

I think this is even more likely to be true in cases where someone is a recently-returned RM or where there would be other strong cultural/societal taboos against such behavior. The need for medication or relief is so strong that they do it anyway, despite strong incentives not to.

I have no idea if this is the situation with Ah You, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all. I’ve seen this happen with family members, and it has given me a new perspective. I believe depression and mental illness are at the root of many destructive behaviors in our society.

P.S. In case anyone misunderstood this, I am not excusing or justifying a DUI in any way. I believe DUIs are criminally irresponsible and should be punished accordingly.