ALEC BALDWIN BOOZE TERROR
Will gun death tragedy trigger alcohol relapse?
DEVASTATED Alec Baldwin was at a bar drowning his sorrows with a beer after fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, leaving experts fearing the tragedy could drive the alcoholic back to the bottle following 35 years of sobriety.
While the suds in front of Baldwin was a non-alcohol Rescue Club IPA brew, addiction experts warn the emotionally stressed 63-year-old star — who confessed to being a boozer until quitting in 1985
— is asking for trouble by going to a saloon filled with bottles of real liquor.
“You have to realize you’re never completely healed,” says New Jersey addiction expert Thomas Gagliano, author of The Problem Was Me.
“You’re only managing your addiction and how you manage it is by admitting that you can’t handle a drink, can’t handle being in a bar surrounded by liquor when you’re under incredible stress.
“Otherwise, it could be years later and you’ll pick it up right where you left off.”
Greenwich, Conn., shrink Dr. Holly Schiff says: “Anyone who accidentally kills someone is going to experience post-traumatic stress disorder–related symptoms.
“There are a lot of photos of him having his head in his hands and seeming distraught.
“When we talk about PTSD, and the nightmares and flashbacks and anxiety that comes along with that, on some level, regardless of whose fault it is that someone died. I’m sure he feels responsible for her death.”
Schiff, who has not treated the star, warns Alec is “especially vulnerable” to a relapse now and going to a bar and drinking no-alcohol beer is risky.
“Those who are recovering from alcoholic addiction sometimes believe that nonalcoholic drinks are the safe way to continue to drink,” she notes.
“But I do believe that it’s more of a behavioral crutch and a slippery slope. Although there is no alcohol in the drink, the smell and taste is enough to potentially trigger a relapse.”
Meanwhile, the burly star and wife Hilaria, mom of his six young kids, left New Mexico,
where the Oct. 21 shooting took place on the set of the Western Rust, and then escaped New York
for Vermont.
The couple drew criticism after they were pictured making coffee runs, shopping for designer clothes and taking their children trick-or-treating while Halyna’s widower, Matthew, and nine-year-old son,
Andros, were trying to cope with their devastating loss.
Alec says he has been in touch with
Matthew, has been cooperating with the New Mexico police and he, too, is grieving Halyna’s death.
Investigators say they have not ruled out filing charges against anyone who handled the revolver loaded with the fatal round that day — and the pressure on everyone involved is enormous.
Addiction expert Gagliano warns: “The cemetery is filled with addicts who thought they can handle their addiction.”