I hoped and prayed for years that I was only a heavy drinker but my continued heavy drinking with serious consequences showed me that I was indeed, yep, an alcoholic.
I heard Morgan Freeman say in an NPR interview that "A lush is somebody who likes to drink. An alcoholic is someone who needs to drink." I remember thinking "Well, fabulous. I am a lush. That has kind of a ring to it. A lush, I can live with that. I'm just a lush, right? Right? " I was really mostly happy because I thought that would allow me to keep drinking without really having to worry about it. Man was I ever frustrated when this lush continued to get daily debilitating hangovers (at work as well as weekends) and this "lush's" hands began to tremble in the morning when I'd put in my contacts.
Whatever the label, I just couldn't do it anymore.
In my daily life I never use the term "alcoholic." I just go by "non-drinker."