Self-destruction can also be a kind of salvation. Sure, the drugs and alcohol and reckless behavior may lead to a quicker death, but for some people, a life without them is a living death, a slow-motion suicide. For most of us, there are certain additional things we need — not to survive, but to want to survive. That could be a relationship, a fandom, a career, or an art. For some people, that's alcohol, and that's what it takes to make it through the day. Don't talk to them about their health; if they liked life so much, they wouldn't be drunk all the time. They don't care about their health.
