I thought RR did not consider alcoholism a disease? In which case, your book is warning you about the danger of others labeling you as something that does not not exist. That strikes me as an odd notion to be parading around as 'rational'.
I try not to let the fears of others get in my head, especially if those fears are about the opinions of others. That is pretty far from the center of the work I need to do. From time to time I find similar "gems of wisdom" in my thoughts that seem to loose both there gem-like and wisdom-like quality as I move forward, but I am probably just being a snaggletoothed snorfblatter.