Addiction & Recovery

[font color = blue]Stuart>>Now, as long as you have a desire, most groups don't care...You gotta say..I am an acholoic,,,but even that doesn't matter much..I say I am an addict achololic...so what??? [/font]

I hear addict alcoholic and alcoholic addict a lot in Minneapolis area. Maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the people.

[font color = blue]Stuart>>And some people say..." I am an addict" as the leader, I really don't care who they are[/font]

I hear "I'm an addict" too quite a lot. Like you, I don't let it bother me, and have never heard anyone confronted about it during the meeting, and if they were confronted about it outside of the meeting, I've never heard about it either.

Some people (in closed meetings as well as open) just give their names without giving themselves a label. I don't worry about that either, Tradition 3 does not require someone to label themselves an alcoholic. In fact I appreciate people who have the courage to not go along with every group norm. I don't believe that everyone who has a desire to stop drinking but hasn't so far succeeded on their own is an "alcoholic" (or "alcohol dependent" to use the DSM's term for alcoholic) and neither does the DSM. (Myself, I label myself an alcoholic since I've crossed a few other thresholds)