Originally Posted by
Supercrew 
But what I'm saying is without alcohol I am not an alcoholic. I wasn't an alcoholic before I started drinking, I was just a human with problems and issues, when I drank, alcoholism became one of those issues and problems and caused a few more. When I stopped drinking I went back to just being a human with problems and issues who used to abuse alcohol and was once addicted to it.
Originally Posted by
onlythetruth I definitely had some dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors before I began drinking, but I was absolutely not an alcoholic. Alcoholism is an addiction to alcohol, and by definition one cannot be addicted to something one has never ingested.
I agree wholeheartedly.
We may be born genetically predisposed to becoming an alcoholic, or have life experiences which make us seek numbness, but that doesn't make you an alcoholic. You may want to drink more after your first ever drunk, but you have to work really hard to become addicted to alcohol...it takes time and regular drinking to rewire and alter the chemistry in your brain.
If I had known back then what I now know about addiction and how my life was going to be affected, maybe I too would have chosen not ever to have that first drink, like the person LaFemme mentioned.
Interesting thought isn't it...to share our experience with young young teens...to give them the ability to recognize the signs. Maybe after our daughter gets out of high school..........
Murray