Originally Posted by
thoughts 
It looks like the general consensus it that we just don't know, but can hope. I guess I've just got to keep a positive attitude, address my concerns and shortcomings and work on them, remain motivated for the good of my future, and do my best to handle my alcoholism with respect and consideration for where it will take me if I allow it. And, I'm not going to allow it anymore.
That's the usual approach. Think good thoughts and want very much for things to work out well and try to be very good.
I've seen that work for a handful of people to the 5 year mark, and a couple of people made it all the way out to 10 years doing nothing more than that.
Hanging out just on this forum you'll see many begin that each week and get a glimpse of how it goes for them. I've met about 10 of those each week for 30 years so the sample I'm drawing from is easily over 15k.
Good when we can learn from each other this way, and all the available paths others ahead of us have already well and deeply worn down.
Each person is very special and unique and their experiences are always varied and what they bring to their difficulties is never the same, and the degree of their problem is naturally different at the different times they try through the years. It's not as bad early on, and really bad later on.
The trouble is not in the people and their level of desire and commitment and need and capabilities and support. The trouble is the nature of this thing cancels out all of that, and is a wonderful leveler, and tremendously effective in how it normally operates to return the alcoholic to what is slowly decaying their personalities and lives as it continues in the process of killing them.
Beautiful in a way, if you examine it with the right attitude and can remove from the equation what you very much prefer would be so in favor of what is so and has been since the dawn of civilization, which is of course as far back as we can trace what you and I have.