Hello, doctor, I have a friend who acts irratically, very irrationally and is very unpredictable. Now, the only thing predictable about her is that she s unpredictable; she hasn t contacted me in months. This happened before but it wasn t for five months, it was for about two. I tried to contact her the first time, once she nearly hung up. I was just about to give up and forget about our friendship when she called me back and sincerely apologized so we started going to places again together and started carrying on our friendship again. This time she hasn t responded to my last few emails, I don t chase people so am giving up, in some ways. It is SO curious, though, as to what s causing her behavior. I ve always suspected she uses and/or abuses alcohol but am no where near any type of expert, just have seen a lot of abusive and alcohol using folks. That being said, she loves wine and vodka but I believe hides her drinking. She has told me in the past she only has a few a few times per week, she loves white wine. I ve always suspected otherwise but our friendship meant something to me so didn t drop her because of alcohol usage. I just don t get it, she seems to need and like and really enjoy my company but, again, I don t chase people, do not think it s worth it. If they want to be around me, they know how to get in touch. She can be supportive but it comes and goes, sometimes she acts like she is just plain irritated and acts like I am really getting on her nerves, so disheartening. That s it, just would like some professional insight. She loves bar scenes and seems to enjoy only company of people she knows drinks. That s a sign I know but her bizarre and unpredictable behavior is the clincher. She has gotten mean, said mean things about others and went off on me sometimes, that stuff is really a deal breaker. Almost forgot about her but she seemed to make up for it and so we carried on. Now looks like it s the end, does this sound like alcohol abuse or alcoholism to you? Thank you so much for your input.