I am careful not to call myself or others names. I used to drink too much. I don't drink now. I have no use for the word alcoholic.

People can and do recover from addiction without labelling themselves.

I call myself a blonde, I call myself a successful happy human being...
my friends know I have an addictive, nature,(they have seen my obsessive coffee creamer collection)
i'm a type A personality (which a swirl of procrastination thrown in for cleaning closets).

We may be alcoholics and addicts, but we are so much more than that too.

Maybe don't worry too much about labels for now Jake. I understand how you feel. I felt the same a bit but it had more to do with my shame about my drinking. I kind of saw it as a weakness. Now I see addiction as something that happens to normal people. And the further away I get from my last drink, the less ashamed I feel. I think now I am actually proud of being a recovering alcoholic :)

If it is a problem for you, just go down the AVRT route. They don't recommend you call yourself an addict, for good reasons. Worth a look if you haven't already x

Being labeled an addict/alcoholic was a lot less degrading than defendant, mental patient, drop out, criminal, patient, overdose victim, etc., etc.. It's funny how I never cared about labels until I started to clean up. The scariest thing was once I labeled myself an addict, it turned the responsibility of cleaning myself up to me.

In the past I didn't care to label myself alcoholic. I knew I had a drinking problem, knew I tended to drink too much.

But then I always went back to drinking.

This time around I am embracing the term alcoholic for myself. It's an easy way for me to put it and doesn't try to sugarcoat my drinking. I remind myself daily. And, I said that I was when I went to the two AA meetings this past week.

When offered a drink I am not saying, "no I am an alcoholic".

But I know. And, for me it's important that I never forget it.

I do think lots of people can get sober without labeling themselves an addict/alcoholic.

I apparently could not.

How relevant is this label in your day-to-day living though?

Yeah as much as I don't like it for the stigma the media/our peers/ and society as a whole puts on it, it is what I am. It's not all I am, but it is an undeniable component and I choose to practice full honesty and call a spade a spade.

Labels are used to classify or define something for a useful end. I believe that some folks get a lot of benefit, community, reminder etc. for using the label "alcoholic" or "addict". Some folks do not receive the benefit, and in fact find it damaging. It is our right as individuals to weigh how we feel and use the terms responsibly.

I do not use either label with myself publicly, as it does not serve me. If I approached sobriety differently, I might go about labeling it differently as well. To each our own.

Last time I took a drink, Bill Clinton was the President.

I choose not to label myself in relation to behavior that took place that long ago. It simply isn't relevant anymore.

i think that by proclaiming you're an addict/alcoholic...you STAY in that stigma.

it' just that i think of myself as much more....btw, I quit smoking 20 years ago, i just say, no I don't smoke.

This is an interesting point. Nicotine is a serious and deadly addiction, but I have never heard someone identify as a "recovering smoker" or explain that they don't smoke any more because they are an addict so they can't have nicotine.

That's right, and I think this is a useful comparison. Nicotine is incredibly addictive and deadly, yet no one expects people who were formerly addicted to nicotine to apply lifetime labels to themselves. In fact, we'd think they were weird if they did!

I dont label myself, rather I identify as an addict and that reminds me that I cant use drugs of any kind.

To me, addict, isn't a label, it's an adjective. One of many hundreds that could be truthfully applied to me. Not one single adjective could comprehensively describe me, but each has a valid place in describing me.

And each is useful in various arenas in my life.

People aren't going to know you're a recovering addict/alcoholic unless you tell them. Who you choose to tell, or not tell, is entirely up to you. One of the good things about being in recovery is that you have the choice to reveal this about yourself to other people, you can choose who to tell (or not tell) and when (if ever). You have the control. Whereas the addict/alcoholic not in recovery is controlled by their drug of choice and people are going to know and/or find out one way or another, but it's usually due to some embarrassing or tragic event.

You ever see a smoker quit for a length of time and start again. Its the same exact thing as drinking. Right back to where they left off only to get worse.

that's not the case for me....I'll have one ciggie, maybe once or twice a year....and immediately go brush my teeth and wash my hair...

I honestly can say , that I am happy that you dont struggle with it anymore Fandy.. :)

Well, sure, but that doesn't have anything to do with identifying oneself as an addict or alcoholic. If I drank again or took pills or smoked cigarettes, I would become readdicted. Because I don't use those substances I am not addicted to them. For me personally, a label isn't necessary to remain abstinent and live happily.