Those are great questions. I didn't know either man well enough at those times to say, but my take is that neither was doing any solid amount of effort at personal change. The younger man focused on work and income to recoup financially, the older on his career and community work. Both neglected themselves physically, and as a result - in part, both still give off a semi-depressed pessimistic flavor.
I find myself worrying about becoming a poster boy for D, with people looking at me and thinking "Look how great you're doing now that you pulled the plug on your M!" The reality is that I merely survived the D, and that I still feel at times as if I'm still in that mere survival mode.
JM, you are so right. The WAS can be pulled toward positive change, and there is a powerful different ingredient possible in a new R with the WAS - the LBS's changes. So very true.
