re: What constitutes alcohol addiction

Lots of responses I agree with. I’m 47 and drank mostly beer since I was 19. Would always drink heavy when at parties, get togethers etc. About 4 years ago I discovered Vodka. Worst thing I could have done. On beer I would get drunk but not passed out drunk like with the vodka. Wife got breast cancer and somehow found myself drinking more and more to deal with the stress Would never drink before or during work but would kill it on my days off to the point my family could never rely on me for anything on those days. When I knew there was a big problem was my wife asked me to please stop drinking and I did for very short periods but would always go back to the bottle. Woke up after a blackout night and wife basically said it’s me or the bottle. Checked myself into rehab and the last 8 months have been great. I was such in a damn haze I never knew how much destruction I was causing around me. So I count myself fortunate that I never lost my family, job or anything else that was important to me. And by the way I never really considered myself an alcoholic until about a month before I went to rehab