People see psychiatrists because they are struggling emotionally and mentally. Their lives feel overwhelming and out of control. So it is perhaps not surprising that I have to talk about alcohol with most of my new patients. I do not mean that all my patients are addicted to alcohol – that is, they don’t compulsively need to drink or have withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop (although a small percentage are struggling with full blown addiction). Most aren’t even abusing alcohol. They are not driving drunk, or getting belligerent when drunk, or having memory gaps when drinking (although these…