I third this. He’s doing the best he can. Depression (coming from someone who knows firsthand) is no joke, and he likely has Major Depressive Disorder which is chronic and quite disabling. He’s amazing for getting out of bed and going to work and holding down a full time job. Plus he actively attends therapy. He’s doing all he can. His struggle with alcohol is just poor self medicating, but in an area as isolated as Stardew that’s what tends to happen to the even the best and strongest of us when there isn’t the greatest expertise available, Dr. Harvey does his best but he’s a GP not a mental health specialist. But Shane is actively trying to cut down. It doesn’t help that the only restaurant or even hangout really is a saloon. There’s nowhere else to go and you can only see the one movie in town each season so much. It takes a loooooong time to find the right combination of medication and often years of therapy to start to recover. No one really likes or talks to him. He says he’s so surprised you will as his hearts go up. Pelican town really isn’t the best place for him to live but he says he had a terrible family living situation which im supposing is why he’s with his aunt for now. I have a suspicion he’s younger than he looks like under 25 maybe. Chronic mental or physical health issues tend to age people faster than normal appearance wise.
