I wanted to add that most doctors refuse to even try to diagnose an alcoholic that even only binge drinks on the weekend because a lot of alcoholic behaviors mimic mental disorders like bipolar or schizophrenia; how could they tell which was which?
So if trained medical professionals can't and won't tell the difference, how can we? And probably even dangerous and unhealthy for those in the alcoholic's life.
What the above poster said about them "having to get sober first" as in long term sobriety, we t can't know.
My AH has had multiple head injuries as a result of his drunken behavior which could be a part of his problem. That being said he was drinking and partipating in risk taking behavior when he GOT the had injuries; so it's one of those "which came first? The chicken or the egg" type things.