Martin Sheen is urging his fellow pensioners to find ways to help others in an effort to end the trend of the elderly drinking themselves to death. The actor, 68, is staggered by statistics about the rise in alcoholism among retired people and, as an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous, he's determined to make a change. Sheen tells the new issues of America's Aarp magazine for the elderly he believes many retirees turn to booze when loved ones die and they find themselves feeling lonely. He says, "Suddenly they're alone; they spiral much quicker. "What revives so many elderly and people who have lost spouses is getting back in there. Go back and serve, teach, find people who need your help. "When you become disconnected, you get farther and farther from the shore, and you don't realise how far you've drifted, and then suddenly you're in the deep water and you're alone."
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