When it comes to the disease alcoholism, we are not unique. We all drink to much.
We all were looking for something we hadn't heard of before or haven't found yet. If you haven't found it yet, you have to work with what you have. If we don't, we are only making it more difficult for ourselves.
With all do respect, self pity applies to everyone, doesn't it? Self pity and self centered are not the same to me. However, I do believe alcoholics are very selfish. That is a characteristic of the disease.
I don't mean to be argumentative, but my thoughts were very scattered and unclear in early recovery. It helped me to get different perspectives.