There shouldn't be this requirement to label yourself an 'alcoholic'
non-drinker
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 13,845
I don't get hung-up on labels.
All I know is that I drank so heavily, that it almost cost me my life.
Now I don't drink and I'm happy about it.
Call it whatever you like, doesn't affect me in the least.
All I know is that I drank so heavily, that it almost cost me my life.
Now I don't drink and I'm happy about it.
Call it whatever you like, doesn't affect me in the least.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
Posts: 3,895
Word matter a lot to me - maybe too much. Semantics and definitions effect me deeply, they can aid or hinder me.
So for me I also do not like the label alcoholic. I don't like recovery either. I think of myself as someone who cannot drink because I have something in me that wants more and more of it. There's a self-destructive complex and an avoidance complex at work in me that utilizes alcohol as a tool (what tool it is) to avoid and destroy.
I'm not an alcoholic - I don't drink anymore. I'm not "in recovery" - I'm sober.
So for me I also do not like the label alcoholic. I don't like recovery either. I think of myself as someone who cannot drink because I have something in me that wants more and more of it. There's a self-destructive complex and an avoidance complex at work in me that utilizes alcohol as a tool (what tool it is) to avoid and destroy.
I'm not an alcoholic - I don't drink anymore. I'm not "in recovery" - I'm sober.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: West Tn
Posts: 3,043
Vulcan -
Glad that you brought this up and that you are here.
I don't know where you found the "requirement" you mention, but I suspect that it is AA.
Mercifully, there is no requirement in AA that requires anyone to label oneself.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.
I wouldn't worry about people saying I'm in denial about something.
I certainly have the capacity for denial.
Glad that you brought this up and that you are here.
I don't know where you found the "requirement" you mention, but I suspect that it is AA.
Mercifully, there is no requirement in AA that requires anyone to label oneself.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.
I wouldn't worry about people saying I'm in denial about something.
I certainly have the capacity for denial.
Psalm 118:24
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: ILLINOIS
Posts: 15,203
The nice thing about my advancing years is no peer pressure.
Not sure if this post alludes to you having to explain to people that you can’t drink because of a problem with alcohol !
That said, it’s no body’s business but mine why I don’t drink but mine.
My close friends know my history with my alcohol use.
I took an alcohol evaluation and was deemed a problem drinker. I felt no need to continue drinking to elevate my status.
I’m actually satisfied with my label as a recovering alcoholic. Anything less would be a denial.
Not sure if this post alludes to you having to explain to people that you can’t drink because of a problem with alcohol !
That said, it’s no body’s business but mine why I don’t drink but mine.
My close friends know my history with my alcohol use.
I took an alcohol evaluation and was deemed a problem drinker. I felt no need to continue drinking to elevate my status.
I’m actually satisfied with my label as a recovering alcoholic. Anything less would be a denial.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 6,262
I think you're trying to complicate, to over-think, things. I call myself an alcoholic because when I pick up a drink I can't stop, I have to control over how much I drink or what happens when drunk. AA says "the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking." That's it. If it bothers you to call yourself an alcoholic, then don't. It only matters what you do about it.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
