You do.
Rjmaster,
welcome to SoberRecovery.
If only I had listened to my wife, rather than hiding it . . .
But, seriously: our alcoholism takes each of us as far as we let it.
If you hear stories of what some of us have lost due to our alcoholism, or read about them here, I hope that you are able to listen with an open mind.
If you find yourself saying to yourself: "I am not that bad." or: "I have never done that.", you might want to add a big fat "YET." to the end of your sentence of denial.
I very nearly lost everything that is near and dear to me.
I used to say that I was not as bad as those folk in the meetings.
I started hiding my alcohol -- hiding my drinking -- hiding.
Then I stopped caring so much what she thought.
I thought that I was right.
Was I not?
I sincerely hope that you have your moment of clarity sooner rather than later.
I was able to help save our marriage when I stopped drinking.
Our marriage was, and is, definitely worth saving.
And I was worth saving.
Many of us carry on losing . . . our relationships . . . our minds . . . even, our lives.
Never say never.
You haven't lost that much . . .
yet.
For what it's worth, IMHO: You belong, as much as any of us .