Agreed.
No matter my Opinion of what Alcoholics label the cause of their Affliction, watching People who had no hope and Family Relationships in ruin work to turn their Lives around in inspiring.
When I attend these Meetings with my Father, I always make a point to encourage those in attendance with positive comments at the end of the Meeting.
My Father is the oldest one in the Group, and the fact that he could give up 60 Years Drinking at such a late stage in life works to inspire those who lose faith in themselves to win the battle.
Nobody who hasn’t faced the challenge of Alcoholism can begin to understand the Personal dynamics at play. Many of those attending AA were forced into attending as part of their sentencing for DUI Convictions. You can spot the “newbies” as soon as you walk in the room.
Many of those same people actually get their act together, but just as many don’t. I’ve met both. It’s either uplifting watching them overcome or very sad knowing that a “substance” can control someone’s Life.
There is a difference bewteen a heavy drinker/problem drinker a bonafide alcoholic.
My experience has been heavy /problem drinkers and dyed in the wool alcoholics. The latter is addicted both physically and mentally. They cannot function without some level of alcohol in their system usally a minimun of .1 or better. Many long time drunks need significantly higher. They experience blackouts, severe insomnia, dramatic mood swings, and delusions when drinking particularly heavy.
Heavy/problem drinkers haven’t crossed the line into raging alcoholism but continued unabated they often do.
Binge drinkers are the exception. They are considered alcoholics because they possess many of the same characteristics of an “all the time” drunk but only drink for shorter durations 2-4 days. They do however tend to drink heavier during these periods often consuming in 3 days what a “Maintenance” alcoholic would in a week. Both types of alcoholics will definately destroy their life as they know it or likely die if some intervention is not initiated (By self or otherwise)
There’s often a fine line between problem/heavy drinker and an alcoholic. The only person who really knows is the person involved whether they are willing to admit it or not. Which makes a definitive diagnosis troublesome. My personal opinion is that there are fewer true alcoholics and more problem/heavy drinkers than generally accepted.