Welcome LB. Alcoholics and addicts are sprinkled through out the worlds population in ALL segments of society, Drs., lawyers, commercial pilots, certainly politicians, judges and on and on.
A successful start in turning around our addiction is being honest with ourselves about our problem and not whitewash it with what we would like it to be. My bottom line is I can not drink alcohol in safety, even after many years of abstinence. A long time ago I needed/need AA for my guidance to stay stopped drinking wise. There are other methods that work but I'm not sure of their longevity statistics.
A big thing that helped me was being told to keep coming.
BE WELL