repressed: my ah is also a binge drinker. It's hard to think of them as alcoholics sometimes because they go through periods of sobriety. I think that often times, society paints a picture of the alcoholic as a non-functioning, in the bar every night, can't keep a job, etc. and then it's hard to look at someone that doesn't drink every day or night and see them as an alcoholic.
My ah is an alcoholic. It took him years to come to terms with that, accept it, and admit it. He knows that at anytime he takes that first drink, he will fall right into the old pattern. But it took him finally reaching a point of being able to swallow his pride enough to admit it.
I hope that you will continue to come here to SR. I also hope that you will find a meeting (when you are ready) so that you have that personal contact with others that have shared in your struggles through this illness. You are about to embark on a real journey - the journey of YOUR life! Hope you stick around so you can grow with us here.