Hi,
I guess I haven't questioned myself enough to even think I would have a label for the rest of my life. Everyone I knew, even my garbage man, knew I had a drinking problem before I went for help. I was predispositioned before I ever had my first drink but didn't know what it meant at the time I first heard that (word).
I have been sober for 21 years with the help of my doc, AA, & Mental Health Counseling for my Chemical Depression. I have a good life and am happy as I meet each morning. I sobered up several times but no longer than a year before I picked up that first drink.
This time I sobered up for "ME" and wanted to stay and be sober more than anything else in my life at that time. I did what was suggested and just kept coming back and coming back while using the Serenity Prayer to help guide me each day. I still use the Serenity Prayer daily or more often if needed to help me through hard times.
I am retired and so is my husband. We have five children all living their lives as they so choose. My youngest son is an example of the predisposition and how it affected his life. After four years in the Navy he came home with a big drinking problem that continued on and on....we would talk hours about his issues and what he needed to do and he did it...in-patient alcohol and mental health treatment several times but it didn't work....he is 40 years old and is a quadriplegic living in an Adult Assisted Living Home when he is not back in the VA Hospital for medical care. He tried suicide but failed.