Summary

Dave Coulier, known for his role on Full House, has managed to cope with significant personal tragedies and a global pandemic without alcohol after quitting on January 1, 2020, despite his deep-rooted love for drinking, which he realized was no longer reciprocal.

Abstract

Former Full House star Dave Coulier has faced a series of personal tragedies, including the suicide of his brother, the sudden death of his best friend Bob Saget, and the passing of his father, all while navigating the stress of a global pandemic. Despite these challenges, Coulier has remained sober since January 1, 2020, after realizing his love for alcohol was not being returned, as it led to blackouts and serious injuries. In a candid Guideposts article, he reflects on his journey from a childhood surrounded by alcohol in Michigan to his decision to quit cold turkey following a particularly concerning incident that worried his wife. Coulier's story underscores the idea that alcohol does not solve problems but rather creates them, and that facing life's challenges without relying on substances can be both possible and preferable.

Opinions

The author of the web content believes that Coulier's story is inspiring, demonstrating that it is possible to overcome alcohol dependency and face life's difficulties head-on.
The author suggests that alcohol can deceptively present itself as a solution to problems while actually exacerbating them.
The author empathizes with the struggle of quitting alcohol, mentioning their own experience with withdrawal symptoms and the mental challenge it poses.
The author implies that society often views alcohol as a harmless part of culture, which can be problematic and lead to issues like those faced by Coulier.
The author encourages readers to support the publication by becoming a member or leaving a tip, indicating a belief in the value of sharing such personal stories for the broader community.

What was the moment alcohol stopped loving you back?

Former Full House star Dave Coulier has been through more tragedy over the past few years than anyone should have to endure in such a short period of time.

For someone known for being so goofy and light, there has been plenty of darkness in his life.

His brother, who’d suffered with mental health challenges his whole life, committed suicide (Dave found him). Then his best friend, Bob Sagat, died suddenly and unexpectedly in a hotel room while on tour doing comedy. Finally, his father passed away after going into long-term care.

Yet he managed all these tragedies (and the stress of a global pandemic!) despite quitting drinking alcohol on January 1, 2020.

How did he do it?

A love of alcohol fades

In a heartfelt, honest first-person article in Guideposts published this week, Coulier walked readers though his upbringing in Michigan, where drinking was ingrained in the culture and in his large Catholic family. He wrote about pouring himself gin as a child and chugging beers after playing hockey.

Coulier — perhaps unsurprisingly given the role he played on television — was known as the fun-loving party guy who loved to drink.

In fact, he loved it so much that he would frequently black out and seriously injure himself after drinking too much.

He writes that, about five years ago, he started to come to terms with the fact that he might be an alcoholic. The blackouts and memory issues had become big, waving red flags.

As he perfectly puts it in the piece: “I loved booze. But it had stopped loving me back.”

Cold Turkey

With his wife deeply worried about him after another bloody injury, he finally decided to quit. Cold Turkey.

I think everyone can think of a moment or moments when it clicked that they’d developed a problem. For Coulier, it was his wife crying on the phone out of concern.

Now, I quit drinking exactly 42 days go, so the memories of withdrawal are still fresh for me. It was a mental challenge for sure, getting over the cravings and irritation and general sense of unease.

I wasn’t a blackout drinker though, I was just making myself a mild zombie every night, so I can’t imagine what it’s like for someone who was drinking as much as Coulier.

Not fun, evidently. He writes more about physical symptoms like sweating and shaking.

Eventually that wore off and, on the other side, he rediscovered the joy of just living — despite all the tragedies he had to manage.

I think this is a really inspiring story, and it goes to show that alcohol isn’t the problem-solver we think it is.

Although Coulier had to really feel his feelings through those tough times, I suspect he would have been much worse off had be tried to manage his pain with alcohol.

Perhaps he would have gotten into a tragic situation of his own.

I hope Dave Coulier’s piece encourages you and shows that, even though life can be so, so hard sometimes, tackling those challenges without trying to anesthetize yourself is not only possible, but preferable!

Alcohol doesn’t actually solve any of our problems. It creates them and then masquerades as the solution.

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