Did anyone watch this Horizon documentary on BBC2 just now? It's really moved me and I thought it was an incredible piece of tv.
The impact of childhood trauma clearly shown to impact his entire life, even at the age of 60. I found it frustrating that the doctors only started asking about possibly trauma so near to the end of the programme and I desperately wanted him to start regular talking therapy. The bipolar expert suggested alcohol was the central problem, but whilst I agreed he'd do so much good to stop drinking, I felt that he was too scared to stop whilst the childhood trauma hadn't been dealt with. He was using drink to numb those feelings of guilt and shame so associated with childhood abuse. Terrible stuff.
As an adult with a history of childhood trauma I only managed to control my drinking once I'd made some initial headway in the therapy. I would never have had the incentive to stop otherwise as I didn't believe there was ever a way out of the trauma.
Anyway, massive respect to Tony Slattery for his bravery in confronting this and what a wonderful gem of a husband he has- they were the definition of true love. Well done BBC for a programme with such integrity.