denial is a beautiful thing, until you wake up.

how much b/s do we spread about our drinking ?  how many times do we make excuses about our drinking?
i used to say "alcoholics go to school"  we make so many cop outs when we drink.
we are so afraid to accpet any kind of label upon ourselves and we constantly look for confirmation that we are NOT alkies or drunks.
alcohol allows us to THINK we are feeling normal or makes us believe that we belong in a surrounding that we would NORMALY be uncomfortable in.

we invest so much time looking for approval for our drinking habits or confirmation from others that we are not alkies or that we dont have a problem.

do we have to be an alkie to have a drinking problem ?  NO.
do we have to be an alkie to know its time to quit ? NO.
many ppl who drink to make things better or soften the blows of life wound up defeating themselves.
there are those like myself that simply enjoyed beer. the buzz come on and in time that buzz wasnt good enough.

before long we needed that buzz to do just about everything. IT BECAME PART OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE.
many times booze ended up being our routine and everything else took a back seat.

there are those that drink everday and still hold jobs, still drive. they havnt lost anything. what makes them so differant ?
  are they alcoholics or drunks ?
i was both.   i had quit drinking for 6 years before i got my first computer. i found the msn groups. i saw the ones labled aa groups. WELL .... i knew about that. i joined.  the funny thing is,  i found out that ... even though iam an alkie and was  a drunk .. i didnt know much about what they  had to say. now im not here to start a topic about aa. my point is.... i didnt fully understand the meaning of being an alkie.
everyone has their own opinion, but so much of what i read and learned made sense.
i used to make up every excuse in the book to hide my purchase of booze from my  grandfather. i never once claimed to be a drunk .. all those years that i drank. 

   the bottom line is this ...  if you think you have a problem with the way you drink or how much you drink ..
or that you use drinking to make yourself feel better or you need that liquid courage to make it  through your day or through your lifes issues .. more than likely YOU DO HAVE A PROBLEM.
  the question is .... instead of seeking out approval for your drinking ... maybe its time to find ways to help deal with the problem.
odies thoughts.

EXACTLY its something i believe we never fully understand when we are drinking