Degrees of Alcoholism
Hi Folks,
It will be 51 days without a drink today!
Reading these posts has intrigued me so much that I've started doing a little research on the side.
Depending on the source, 15% of people who drink alcohol become alcoholics.
For discussion sake, let's line up 100 alcohol-drinking people from 1 - 100. Person number 85 has entered the "pool" of alcoholism whereas person number 1 very seldom drinks. This could act as a rating scheme.
According to online tests and how well I know myself, I can picture myself at or around number 83. How do I know?
Recently, I've realized (thru reading this forum and online research) that people who are in the "pool of alcoholics (85 - 100) DO NOT have willpower to stop drinking since for all intents and purposes, alcoholism is a disease and willpower alone will not cure the disease.
That's why for some, including myself, willpower works. I have not (yet anyway) contracted the disease of alcoholism and have in the process answered my username-implied question. I truly was not sure.
Nevertheless, if I continued to drink, I could easily move up a few spaces in the rating and then would be powerless once I entered the pool.
I still do not feel comfortable drinking and frequently question myself by asking, "Why drink?". There are no good reasons to drink and hence the reason why I am 51 days without.
For those of you in the pool, please keep up the good work, be persistent and continue seeking support from this site.
Thanks for reading.