The house move coincided with a step change in her habit, and i began to realise it was a serious problem. It certainly put me off drinking with family members (special occasions and glasses of wine with meal which were kind of compulsory in that house) , because that setting just reminded me of how it was tearing the family apart and made me hate the stuff. However, the four or five binge drinking experiences i had away from family members and the home environment were somehow a totally separate thing to me.
Of course had my mother announced she had a drink problem and was trying to get clean or was working a program I would have skipped those too in the hope of getting my mother back. But as she always vehemently (and sometimes violently) denied having a drink problem I don't see what difference it would have made.
When i finally left home to go to university of course the "binge drinking with peers" increased in frequency. Perhaps three times a week in the first semester. It was simply the student culture of the time. I regarded it as a necessary chore, and fortunately found a group of friends that didn't indulge so often. However when they did, i again saw it as a different thing to my mother's. My friends could drink a lot yes, but only to have fun. And they didn't become angry or tearful under the influence, they were just having a good time. Perhaps my mum was right after all - Alcoholism wasn't really her problem. Perhaps it's just masking a mental health issue.
Fast forward 15 years, and my heavier drinking university mates are now displaying similar behaviours to AM.
A few years ago, whilst living with an active A and going through a particularly rough time at work (and life in general) I developed an "if you can't beat em, join 'em" attitude. I started drinking through a four pack after getting home from work to "chill out". That scared me, it only lasted a year or so, but proved a hard habit to break.
I think it's the nightly consumption, plus the fact that you're not drinking enough to become ill, which flipped the switch from making it an unpleasant to pleasant activity. Though i think the "pleasure" that is experienced is actually just a cessation of the withdrawl symptoms that build up during the day - i had my first bottle of beer in five years recently, and all it produced was headache , tiredness and confusion.