CC Sabathia opens up on the Player's Tribune about his decision to seek help for his alcoholism last October. A very good read.

Here's the link. 

It's very difficult and frustrating to deal with someone who has that addiction. For one thing it's a "legal" addiction. No jail time for buying booze. So your addiction is in essence socially acceptable. Unless you have a car accident, or are a "mean drunk", your illness will be overlooked or ignored by all but your closest family. And they have no control over you, and nothing anyone can do or say will make or coerce you into treatment. And if by that rarest of chances, they do, it has little chance of sticking. It has to come from you. That's a time warn phrase, but absolutely nothing else is of consequence until that has happened! I was never a CC fan, I always got a kick out of the Twins bunting on him. This is yet another reminder, that what we know from watching players on the field, is pretty minsicule.

Thank god we spare alcoholics from jail (unless they get behind the wheel). They actually live the consequences every day, as all addicts do.  I don't claim to know what the solution might be, but their sickness always runs deeper than their drug of choice.