Remember that addiction is a mental illness, and this is all too common of a sentiment among those with addictions: i.e., the sentiment "I like it too much, I'm not going to give it up" is too common. In fact, my own aunt eerily told my sister that she herself would "quit drinking when [she died]." She unfortunately died of Alcoholism in June of 2008 at the age of 56, which is Ricky Gervais' current age, and may have been 57 in November of that year had she'd been able to get treatment for Alcoholism—and who knows if Ricky Gervais won't share her fate almost a decade later ☹?
What disturbs me is that the "Daily Mail" seems to see nothing disturbing about anyone, let alone a prominent figure, sending the message that there is nothing wrong with refusing to attempt to get treatment for mental illnesses even when one has the resources to get such treatment. As for Ricky Gervais' loved ones, I find what they're doing perhaps even more disturbing: they seem to be quite content with not wanting to try to help him get help. In contrast to my family whom did try to help my aunt get help, they seem to encourage him to, for example (and as he related), "[wet] himself after six pints of Guinness during a weekend bender."
Regardless of whom has (a) mental illness(es) or what a given person's mental illness(es), nothing is funny or encouragable about allowing someone to be overtaken by a mental illness.
PS My great-great-grandfather Julian Czerniecki (later Julian Czarnecki), whom was born on December 24, 1875 in Polish Russia, was also besieged by Alcoholism, and I don't know when Alcoholism onset for him. What I do know is that the Anti Semitism—and other persecutions and hardships—that he faced in Polish Russia (which he left after the Belostok Pogrom) and in the United States affected an exacerbation of his Alcoholism (and if you think that having to pretend to be a Polish Catholic and settle in out-of-the-way Sugar Notch in order to survive isn't hardship, don't kid yourself¹).
I also know that Great-Great-Granddad Czarnecki was not help as exacerbated Alcoholism (not to mention other mental illnesses, including Depression) besieged him. I have seen, heard, and lived that "Hurt people hurt people" cycle partly because of that; and that is party of why I find disturbing that the "Daily Mail" and those whom apparently love Ricky Gervais want to see him beseiged by a mental illness and perhaps even dead from it.
By the way, the aunt who died from Alcoholism was a maternal aunt; so, Alcoholism is actually on both sides of my family—that of course makes even more disturbing to me what the "Daily Mail" and Ricky Gervais' loved ones are doing, as they are basically saying that they'd like that both people like Ricky Gervais and people on both sides of my family to die of mental illnesses.
I guess that I shouldn't be surprised, though, given how ableist society is and how society hates both famous and non-famous people with disabilities such as mental illnesses.
¹He also had the hardship of being born on a date when Pseudo Christians persecuted the very people of Jesus—whom many of them ironically called "Jeszua", pronounced "Yeshua", by the way—imagine having to live your life never knowing if you'll make it to your next birthday because people whom claim to be celebrating the birth of Jeszua want to commit ethnocide against the very people for whom the New Testament says that Jeszua is Messiah first.
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