Labeling yourself as an "addict/alcoholic"...
 

First off im not bashing NA or AA because I know for a lot of people, that's what works for them.. But for some reason I always found it kind of degrading to label my self as an addict... I mean yeah I have a problem with drugs, but I don't see the need to label my self or anyone else anything other than a human being.. it's almost as if it makes me feel "less than" the "average" person..

maybe it's because I've never really liked labels for anything :p

Idk, maybe I sound crazy lol but anyone else relate? or have any advice on how to get past this?

thanks

I have written about this topic. I felt the same way. This was back in April.

Today I feel I need the label. It helps me put a perspective on it. An acknowledgment of one aspect to who I am.

Like most here I had to come to terms with the idea of being an alcoholic addict. If you feel the label does not apply then simply don't use it.

For me not to use it is somewhat of a denial. I have been in that state way to long.

I guess I prefer Alcoholic to "Complete idiot who let alcohol rob me of 30 years of my life while completely ruining everything that ment something to me and in the end almost killing me"

I do understand what you're saying but .... if you look at the definition of the word addict ...

For me, it's just a fact. It's reality.

It does not define me.

When I was much younger I could'nt label myself an alcoholic because I thought they were less than average people. It was the way I was brought up. It was and still is the way society views us. Some people look down alcoholics/ addicts the way they look down on obese people.

I think the label keeps things in prospective for me, because if iam not an alcoholic than that means I can drink safely, does nt it??

Just because iam an alcoholic I don't feel iam less than just like some one with diabetes would not. Iam just a guy who can do anything else but drink!!! Take care

I found that extremely difficult too. Id rather focus on sobriety than alcoholism....and for me it seems to work better as long as I dont forget why I need to focus on sobriety. I prefer to focus on more positive things and to me "addict" or "alcoholic" are things i dont want to focus on...I want to focus on being sober, healthy, kind, successful, making amends etc.

Alcoholics addicts are from all walks of life from the top echelon of society to the bottom. I think it's not the people who look down on alcoholics I think maybe you are struggling with excepting it. Just saying.

I totally agree with this and have seen it too. However, I can also agree with your comments. I do not choose to label myself. (I truly am sorry if that does bother anyone...don't give my silly opinion too much weight!). I certainly can though recognize that drinking was causing problems in my life so it is easy for me to admit that I had a problem with alcohol and it needed to be addressed.

I find it ironic that some of my friends have probably considered me to be an alcoholic. After all, I drank a lot and did it frequently. I also had to stop which can't be a good sign. LOL
However, many self-described "alcoholics" probably wouldn't label me as such since I never worked any program of recovery (other than visiting this site). To them I may look more like a heavy drinker or a problem drinker that just got a grip on things before "crossing that line."
Regardless, I totally agree with the old comment that "What other people think of me in none of my business" so let the opinions fly.

I don't feel the need to get hung up on labels. Right now I am just a guy learning to love life. The main way I do this is through the strength and grace of my HP. The fact that I abstain from drinking really is just that. I don't drink....PERIOD. What does that make me? I don't know and honestly don't care. I am just grateful to be able to say that I am happy, content, and peaceful this way.

I have a back-up plan though. I have committed to myself and my wife that I will go to an AA meeting BEFORE I ever drink again. I really do believe it is a good and life-changing program.

You could be right Lionhearted1. Perhaps it is in our heads (or mine, anyway) that a label can be negative. Maybe part of it is getting over what society thinks of when they hear "addict" or "alcoholic".

We are society windancer, I bet if you was too put us all in hall you would be amazed at the people you would meet from top doctors, surgeons, lawyers, vets, builders, the list is endless.

yes, thanks again for the insight Lionhearted1. Im new to this site but Im finding it quite helpful. Like most of us here it has been a rough road (especially this past summer) but for the first time in my life I believe im going to follow through with my sobriety and lifestyle change. :)

Diabetics that don't say "diabetic" still can't handle sugar like a "normal" person.

For me it is a constant reminder of who I was and who I can be but today it is not who I am. I can not forget this even for a minute. I still am an alcoholic because it is a cronic problem but today at least I am in recovery

i am an alcoholic. the only one who makes me feel "less than" the "average" person is me.
there is nothing wrong with being an alcoholic as long as i am living in the solution.
the problem was when i was a practicing alcoholic, leaving a path of destruction, living in denial, and couldnt look in the mirror.

you say this:
"maybe it's because I've never really liked labels for anything :"

after saying this:
"but I don't see the need to label my self or anyone else anything other than a human being"
rahter contradictory?
"

I used to be opposed to the label addict and then I realized I was hiding from reality by refusing to say I was an addict. Now, just because I have come to terms with being an addict doesn't mean that everyone and their mother needs to know that I am an addict.

In NA I say it, to my closest friends I say it, to my family I say it, and on here I say it. To the rest of the world I am just Maylie. So I really don't think anyone looks down on me for it.

In the end do what works for you. At the end of the day everyone's recovery is their own business.

For me It is what it is


I drank to much , to often , and for to long. Once I start I cant stop. !!!!

I am an alcoholic and today proud of it, because of making it to the rooms of AA , I have a life that my drunken world for decades wouldnt of imagined it being sober.

It walks like a duck, talks like a duck, I am pretty sure its a duck.

I didnt hide the fact that if I was awake I had a drink in my hand. And really made bad choices due to drinking. So if its a label. Stick it on me :)

I used to fit this definition. I used to be dependent. I am not dependent now, nor will I ever be again. There is nothing in this definition that says it is forever. If addicted meant 'to be dependent now or to ever have been dependent in the past', it would say so. Folks are free to define words to suit their own purposes, and maybe they should.

If you never drink, just like a couple billion others, it doesn't matter.

i don't deny that i'm an alcoholic, I cannot drink like a normal person.

However, I do not feel the need to shout and proclaim to the world...when i'm offered a drink, I say "no thanks, I don't drink, or no thanks I can't drink today"....it's my business, my health, not a topic for discussion....people don't go around asking me, there are lots of other conversations to have that do not center around alcoholism (except here of course)

Want to get past the label addict?

Get clean. Stay clean. Call yourself a recovered addict.