A community worker died after drinking too much at a wedding reception and taking a “wildly excessive” amount of pain killers, an inquest heard.
What sort of ‘community worker’?
Ursula Gilbert was a well-known member of the New Addington community who worked for Foodlink, helping to promote healthy eating.
Ah. Great. Someone paid to lecture everyone else on self-control and abstinence, in other words.
And apparently, lacking any yourself is no bar to that:
At an inquest into her death at Croydon Coroner’s Court yesterday, it was revealed the 43-year-old mother of two had struggled with a drinking problem.At its worst, Mrs Gilbert was drinking 80 units of alcohol a week.
The court heard how doctors had repeatedly tried to help her with her problem but it was never overcome.
So, suicide?
Coroner Dr Ron Palmer said although the court had heard Mrs Gilbert had a history of overdoses he would not give a verdict of suicide.
/facepalm
Maybe someone should look into the adverse effects on these people of their jobs? It’d be awful to find out that hectoring and badgering everyone else made you prone to alcoholism and suicidal thoughts, wouldn’t it?
There’s vast potential for cognitive dissonance here; acting as an authority on healthy eating places you automatically among the righteous and, one might argue, lessens any incentive to change – not to mention making it impossible to admit to or seek help for problem drinking without undermining your own status.
Sadly, I should not be surprised to hear that depression played a major part in this – I’ve met it before in people who feel an evangelical need to alter the lifestyle or beliefs of others as a way to counter their own perceived shortcomings.
It’s no coincidence that obsessive religions – including that of healthy eating – flourish in times when the population is under stress.
And boy, are they flourishing!
Diane Abbott – Shadow Minister For Health…snicker…
What does it take to rid ourselves of such people?
…about 3 bottles of vodka and some paracetamol apparently