I have never really liked the term "relapse." I have been trying to quit for about a year now. Every time I went back to drinking, it wasn't an action that was out of my control. It was an active decision that I made because I wanted to get drunk.
Right now, I don't want to get drunk because I know I don't like being drunk. And I sure as hell don't like being hungover. I would like to make this a permanent decision, and I'm still working on that ("forever" has always been difficult for me
). But if I were to go back to drinking (I don't want to go back to drinking, just to make that clear), it wouldn't be a "relapse," it would be an active decision on my part. It would be a poor decision. But it wouldn't be a decision beyond my control.
Perhaps I am in the minority. But that was just a thought that came into my head.