Originally Posted by
DoubleDragons 
... I was so "high functioning" in other areas of my life that my drinking hadn't "stood out", yet ...
That was my story too. I also quit early, when I realized that if I did not I would end up just like my father.
Originally Posted by
DoubleDragons ... I guess I am having a hard time communicating what I want to say.
No worries, I "get it"
I think most of us ACoA's "get you" just fine, that's why we all hang out here, where we all understand each other. It's not like with "normies" where I have to go thru the whole deal of explaining my childhood, explaining alcoholism, explaining PTSD, etc. etc.
Mike