I'm no expert but to me it seems the difference is just a matter of awareness. An alcoholic knows that his problem drinking is a problem but finds it hard to stop.
It seems to be human instinct to want to split people up and put them in boxes but I'm not sure it helps anyone. From the variety of people on SR I reckon there's more than just a few different 'types' of 'alcoholic'.
That doesn't stop me from occasionally comparing myself to someone else and then thinking 'I'm not an alcoholic, woo hoo!' though
