Not necessarily. Being a caregiver is difficult on it's own. Even though you are the one with the illness your dad watches what you go through. I can say as a parent watching my kid struggle and suffer and not be able to help or make it better would be a huge emotional strain on me.

It's kind of like this forum. You talk about your dad and his drinking, but you also show how much you love him and he loves you, and how scared you get if something might happen to him. And we all listen and let you know we hear you. It's not really about him, it's about you and how you need support with something truly important to you. So, I think it's the same thing. They aren't talking about your illness so much as what they are going through as being part of our worlds.

I think it would be the same if you had cancer or a bad heart or Downs Syndrome or kidney disease anything else that threatens the person you love. And for some people emotional strain = self medicate with drugs/alcohol/too much t.v. or internet/gambling etc. So, even if it's not directly discussing alcohol it could still be theraputic.