SoberRightNow and Anna:
Thank you both for your replies. My very first post on here was in regards to the degree of alcoholic that I am. The fact is that I do drink excessively on weekends when I'm by myself. In the company of others, I can limit myself to a drink or two. It's frustrating because I don't want my "drink or two" on social nights to interfere with my bigger problem (drinking 750ml 2-3 nights a week). I acknowledge that the mass quantity I drink alone is very unhealthy and has caused a lot of problems with my friends, family, and otherwise but I'm honestly not sure how to proceed moving forward.
A part of me recognizes what both of you have said about abstinence, but that's the toughest trend to break as I've been a "social drinker" for almost half my life prior to doing a cannon ball into a bottle for awhile. If abstinence is required, then I'm still an alcoholic due to my 4 drinks tonight. It does pose an interesting question though in regards to "acceptable" drinking limits. If the people around me are drinking as much or more than I'm drinking, what should I label myself as???
Again, please keep in mind that I'm new to this site and am a recent but (hopefully) recovering "alcoholic". I might be confused as to what qualifies "alcoholic" vs "average joe" especially on a night like tonight where I drank less than everybody at the party. Not sure. I've trashed weeks of my life and sabotaged a lot of relationships because of this problem, but some people say I'm not an alcoholic while others do. It's frustrating but it's STILL a problem because I have had weeks where I was drunk for half the week.
