For me, it's when I was drinking to try and feel normal instead of drinking for the fun of it. I progressed pretty quickly to that stage after what I thought was just fun drinking. I got indirect help from a normal drinking girl who I was dating at the time. I couldn't figure out why she would stop after a couple drinks. I couldn't believe she had only gotten sick from drinking a couple times when I've gotten sick hundreds of times. Lastly, when I was out of control and finally lost the relationship, I took a good hard look at myself and knew that I needed to stop drinking.