I'm young (only 26) and have a good job and a good education. But I've been drinking heavily and daily since I was 22 maybe 21. The thing is, the fun has started to go away.
It used to be, I would get drunk and play video games, and because I'm an alcoholic I would get better as I drank until I hit a wall and passed out. Most normal drinkers feel a kick for the first one or two drinks and its downhill from there. For me, it was a plateau until some arbitrary large number of drinks and then BAM. Passed out on the keyboard.
Now it's take a few shots to feel an effect and then realize I'm too dumb to play. I would imagine I've been destroying my body to the extent that my alcoholism has come to the moderate stage (and I'm only 26!). What threw me over the top is I got so drunk on the 19th that I was texting old acquaintances I went to college with (especially girls) telling them how I would come visit them out of state and such. And then the next morning I woke up with the shakes and thought I was going to go into convulsions or something for about an hour my heart was racing so bad.
And here I am. No drinks since then. Or ever again (hopefully).