It’s far more than my “personal” experience but, rather my many experiences over the years with virtually thousands of alcoholics.
And I have NEVER known a bonafide alcoholic to be able to return to “normal” drinking. It just never happens.
Your breathing analogy is totally specious. An alcoholic can no more return to normal drinking than a person with a completely severed spinal cord can return to normal walking.
And just because something is “non-disprovable” doesn’t mean it isn’t completely accurate.
Anyone who recommends that a bonafide alcoholic attempt to return to normal drinking is gambling with their lives and at astromically high odds.
How would you know? It's not like drinkers return to meetings to tell others their doctrine is wrong.
Furthermore, if one told you they were an alcoholic and got "cured," the first thing you'd tell them would be "then you weren't a true alcoholic." (I.e. Heads I win, tails you lose)
And just because something is “non-disprovable” doesn’t mean it isn’t completely accurate.
True, but it does make being dogmatic about it a matter of faith and not of fact, which in turn makes one look rather foolish in denying same.
My best friend was an alcoholic. A two bottle of Goldslagger a weeknight drinker. He stopped 16 years ago.
I have only seen him drink twice since then. The first was the day my grandpa died. Grandpa meant a lot to him, and to me, and my friend had a shot of Scotch with me to remember grandpa by. That was it, one shot, and I begged him not to (he didn’t like Scotch).
The second time was at my wedding. He had champain for the toast. And that was it. He kept smoking the whole time though.