Originally Posted by
NoelleR 
..........it sounds like Im saying that if person has a reason for their drinking, or they say they do, then I might be saying that person probably isn't an alcoholic.....this is definitely NOT what I'm saying; just what I've observed through my experience on this recovery journey.
Hmm, I on the other hand, WOULD say that. kinda
If you're drinking over "issues," and once you're past those issues you don't drink like you used to, then.....at the very least.....
you're not the type of alcoholic the AA book is written for or about. There's also a paragraph that goes over whether you've lost the ability to choose or not. If you can still choose whether you drink or not then, like I said before, you're not the "type" the book addresses. If you can get past your issues and control your drinking or if you can still control your drinking then you can call yourself an alcoholic if you want to but, by AA's definition, you're not.