Could this just be a matter of the survival of the fittest?
A friend from back in my hometown simply cannot fit himself into the world today with its educational, interpersonal, values, and skills requirements.
So he chose to become a drunken, drug addicted, and destitute person barely living on the fringes of our society. He is, truly, killing himself in slow motion. He could hit fast forward at any moment.
He can't adapt to our era.