Progession not a destination
I think the single biggest misconception about alcoholism is you have to be a late stage alcoholic to be suffering from alcoholism. I totally disagree with this concept. Alcoholism starts long long before you are drinking 750 ml per day and alcohol is seriously impacting your life. It is what alcohol does for us, it is how it completes us, it is our lack of control, it is the serenity that we feel that determines if we are alcoholic.
The little old lady who drinks a little too much wine every night, the 20 year old who loves to get out of control on weekend, the guy who lives under a bridge and pan handles for his next drink all suffer from exactly the same thing. It is called alcoholism with the only difference being where on the continuum they find themselves.
One thing is for certain it only gets worse