I'm not gonna say JWs drink more than nonJWs, or less because there's no hard data to support either statement. The same with depression or suicide rates amongst nonJW or JWs. We simply just don't know. However, I think it goes without saying that there are plenty of JWs with drinking problems, myself included. I just had a physical including blood work done, and a urine analysis, and my doctor didn't email me the results for a few days, and being honest with you, my liver was on the back of my mind. I have to say that this past year and a half is when I started REALLY drinking, and much of it is the result of learning the truth about The Truth. Somedays its simple, other days its hell, and to soothe the latter, it takes alcohol, and the occasional Alprazolam, or Diphenhydramine. Before really examining this religion, I was anxious which I've always been, and many a day I was angry, but I couldn't quite pinpoint why. Now I know, and its strange fruit playing both sides of the fence with this religion. Alcohol is self-therapy for a JW. I've known a couple brothers who died over complications with other conditions such as diabetes, however it shouldn't be lost that they both had well known drinking problems which did not help their conditions. To this day my father believes that the mother of one brother directly contributed to his death by getting drunk with him.
I know a brother and his wife who would travel with a couple other JW couples. One year, they took my uncle with them, and when he got back he told all of us about how much drinking they did. He stated that they decided to go to a KH on a Sunday while out fo town, and that you could smell the alcohol off of one sister in their group, and this was 2 rows away from her while they were singing the opening song. Now, the original brother I mentioned, has nonJW relatives that are old friends of my father. My dad relayed to me that he tried witnessing to one of those friends, and she laid into him about her JW relatives drinking all the while being self-righteous. She said that, this JW and his wife, wouldn't attend a wedding in a church, but when they went to the reception later on, they drank more than everyone else in attendance. She labeled them correctly, as self righteous hypocrites. I know this brother and his wife, and they're not reallyself righteous, only stuck on stupid when it comes to entering churches. You know, the whole lurking place of demons thing, Babylon the Great, yadda yadda yadda. However, you can see where the nonJW woman was coming from in seeing the hypocracy.
