Update time ...
(Recap - I posted back in early Dec about my business partner that went in for a 30 day treatment program last year after a terrible week long trip to the hospital that was caused by his drinking)
He came back to the office on Monday of this week and and it was totally surreal. The first thing I noticed is how much weight he had dropped, it was startling. The second thing I noticed, was his face. It didn't have that shiny/sweaty/glistening-oily look that I had grown so used to seeing over the last 10 years. I didn't notice the third thing until he sat down and started telling me about his experience. The only word I can use to describe his demeanor is "Zen." And if you knew the guy before, that's probably the last word anyone would use to describe him. He was always so agitated, nervous, and fidgety. His hands would always be trembling and he used to seem like he was always ready to jump up and run out of the room at a moment's notice. For the first time, he seems to truly be at peace in his own skin.
To make a long story short, he seems to have totally changed. He did admit that half way through the program, he signed his 24 hour release papers and was out of there before some of the guys who were in there with him talked him off the ledge and he stuck it out. He said he's so glad he did and that he learned so much about himself and about the asshole he's been to his family the last 15 years, that he didn't even realized.
So now, we're "back to business" in a sense, and I'm still trying to figure out and navigate being supportive without being condescending, not really having any idea what he's been through.
I will say that watching him and his family go through this has caused me to pay much closer attention to my drinking and especially when, why and how much I drink. (Examples being, I've stopped drinking alone when I'm just watching a TV show and I'm trying not to drink out of boredom).