That’s a good point.  What always struck me as odd is how when you tell them that you’re a recovering alcoholic (or in smoother terms, “I used to have a problem with drinking, so I gave it up”), they look at you like you just told them you have cancer.  They don’t know how to react because everything they’ve ever been taught about alcoholism is so exaggerated on the negative side that you might as well be telling them that you used to molest children.  They think of “alcoholic” as a violent, hateful, reckless, abusive, irresponsible person who has no chance of ever succeeding in life.  They think of people buried in poverty — jobless and without motivation.  They think of someone curled in the fetal position, in the dark, drinking and crying alone in a corner.  They never even consider the fact that a third of the people “just having a good time” at the bar, laughing and drinking with friends, may have an actual legitimate problem.  How could they?  They’re laughing and having fun!

What they don’t see is the private side of some of those lives, where they drink alone.  Hiding it from their partner.  Spending money they don’t have on nights they can’t afford.  Having panic attacks when they see that they’re almost out of booze, and the liquor stores are about to close.  The whole time, hearing their friends tell them, “You don’t have a problem.  Hell, I drink more than you do, and I’m just fine!”

It still shocks me when I see how many people have no idea what “alcoholism” actually means.  And it shouldn’t shock me.  Hell, I had no idea what it meant until I escaped.  And the scary part is that the only people you can explain it to are those who don’t have the problem or those who have already escaped.  Because the actual alcoholics will deny it to the death.  Addicts are very good at defending their vice.  It know because I was one of them, and I had over 20 years of practice.