Originally Posted by
Gottalife 
I left for a year or two in the late eighties, partly because of an influx of non-alcoholic addicts at the time just prior to the formation of NA. I didn't understand these people or their behavior so I walked away.
With all due respect this is one of the things I find to be bizarre about AA. It's like rigidly identifying with a character in a storybook, not seeing how the same role could be played by anyone else. Imo alcoholics aren't a certain type of person, alcoholism is a certain type and manifestation of addiction.
And when you say there are different types of alcoholics.. do you mean you think someone can be a "real alcoholic" and recover another way? Or are you actually making a binary, black and white distinction between all real alcoholics and everyone else you deem as "problem drinkers"?
Not to be pointlessly contentious but I think these terminologies are part of what some people find to be off putting.