Originally Posted by
Kcas 
Thank you all for your responses it helps to know there are other people out there who know this pain-and can help to heal. I understand there is a distinction between an alcohol abuser and an alcoholic? I thought he was an abuser-he didn't seem to need it to function...but choosing a substance over a person (his parents backed him up btw, though his father drinks every day in excess)...is that being selfish or being an alcoholic or both?
Alcoholism is progressive. It never gets better unless the addict gets help and never drinks again. He may be an alcohol abuser today, but if he continues to drink, he will become an alcoholic.
You are not being selfish...you are saving yourself years and maybe a lifetime of misery. He is acting exactly like an addict.