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Is Charlie Sheen a drug addict? The whole world answers 'Well Duh!' in unison. I'm not so sure.

Is Charlie Sheen abusing drugs/alcohol/sex? Massively. No doubt. He has railed against AA, and says he has it under control. I don't think he has it under control. He's in a spiral down.

But there is something that bugs me about the whole thing. When I was in college, my parents, unable to get me to even pick up the phone and talk to them anymore, insisted I go to a one week AA treatment. I was throw in with people that had crashed 10 cars, been arrested on a monthly basis, spousal abusers. It was nuts. Was I abusing alcohol at the time? You betcha. Big time. But the whole experience made everything far, far worse. Now in addition to the incredible rage and sorrow that I already felt at what was happening in my family, I carried around this horrible label of alcoholic. This offered up new waves of guilt and shame that I could use to bash myself with.

I'm going to spare you the story, but I've made some huge changes in my life in the last 5 years. I suppose drinking a lot less is a peripheral benefit, but that is a small part of a much larger picture. And that picture is one of spiritual healing. Making choices about how I'm going to spend that second half of my life, and what I wanted to look back and see when I'm on my death bed. Making choices about how I'm going to treat my daughter and my wife, and the people around me.

My story is not the point. My point is that all of that AA talk, and that identification with alcoholism was a HUGE burden to making any progress. Instead of making any real progress, it was easier just to accept the label, and get remain caught in a cycle of shame and anxiety.

I'm sure there are people reading this who's lives, or the lives of their loved ones, were literally saved by AA. I'm not saying AA doesn't work, because it clearly DOES work for some. But it seems like a treatment method that resembles a hammer, and everything looks like a nail.

When I look at Charlie Sheen, I see a guy who is spiritually bankrupt, and all the drug/alcohol/sex addiction is simply medication to cover the hole in his soul.

What do you think?