Totally. When I relapsed, the first night I was out I only had 5 beers. I left the sixth half full on the bar and walked out. I called my sponsor the next day(wtf?) and told him I only had 5 and I quit on the 6th. I told him I wasn't sure I was an alcoholic. He knew my history and was like....."yeah, good luck with that, maybe your not a drunk"
so needless to say it took me about two weeks to get back to a bottle of bourbon a day with a side order of pills n dope.
I never doubted I was a drunk again.
My disease will always be there, getting stronger. Once you cross that line you can never go back to social partying.
Fortunately, after you know what a sober life is like most folks don't want to go back.