Some people lead wild lives. I don’t just mean interesting. Quite often I don’t even mean interesting. I mean lots of sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Always out partying and full of stories afterwards – if they can remember anything – of the crazy things they did and how drunk they were and how much fun it was, and how many times they were sick. But have you noticed that sometimes they almost have an air of desperation, as though they need to convince themselves how fantastic their life is? They’re weaving a narrative for their own benefit more than yours. Creating a mythology of their life that they can believe in.

That’s because spending your whole time drunk or stoned or waking up in strangers’ houses – or beds – isn’t actually much fun. The confusion, the hangovers, the drunken arguments … doesn’t really sound great, does it?

Listen, I’m not suggesting that you should never have fun, go wild, let your hair down a bit. Every so often it’s good for you, but everything in moderation, eh? These people, though, just don’t seem to understand that you can have too much of a good thing.

Or maybe they do understand it deep down, and they just don’t want to hear it. A lot of people who behave this way do it because they’re trying to distract themselves from some part of their lives or themselves that they can’t cope with. They might seem boorish and loud – or even fun and exciting – but inside they’re lost and vulnerable.

That means that they’re not worth envying, because you probably wouldn’t want to be them really. They also deserve sympathy rather than approbation, because they’re fighting demons we wouldn’t want.

Think about the people you know who fit this wild and wacky description. Perhaps one or two on the fringes might simply enjoy a good night out rather more than the rest of us. But when you consider some of them, and especially the most hard-bitten, committed, wild and drunken people, it’s not hard to believe that they’re constantly on the run from their demons, unable to stand still and just enjoy life in case the demons catch up. So they cavort and spin and dance and take refuge in drink or even drugs, simply to drown out the sound of the demons’ footsteps coming after them, and forget what it is they’re trying to escape from. There may not be much you can do for them, but you could try feeling sympathy rather than envy, and don’t assume they’re fine just because they claim to be.

Actor and notorious hellraiser John Hurt said, ‘Wacky behaviour may seem like a lot of fun, but it usually isn’t. It’s usually the sign of a very distressed person looking for something they can’t find.’