Excellent observations, Carpathia. I was also really afraid of other peoples' judgement before I admitted out loud I had a serious drinking problem. I wanted so much to be liked and accepted and I was afraid if I admitted I was not in control of my drinking and life that I'd be judged harshly. Yes, there were a few people who did judge me harshly, but it turned out that what they were really judging was my BEHAVIOR while drinking - not ME. Once I came clean and got help and quit behaving like a jerk all the time, most people are forgiving. There are still a few who will probably never get past it, and they are simply no longer in my life in any meaningful way.