In an interview George Michael said something along the lines that a boy doesn't become a man until he deals with the loss of a parent. George was real close to his Mother, and when she passed away he said he went through the darkest period that lasted several years, where he inflicted pain upon himself through drugs and alcohol and other stuff to mask the emotional pain he was dealing with over his Mother. I've seen similar things happen to everyday people when there is a death of a parent. I've even people go from normal people to complete assholes over a parents divorce.
