I think that you both mean well and intend to be respectful of the other in this conversation, but it's starting to sound heated. Can we step back and look at it from the other's point of view before making another post, please?

My counseling class was just discussing this same issue, BTW. Alcoholism is one kind of addiction. There are many addictions including drugs, eating disorders, behavioral addictions, gambling, bad habits, thought patterns, etc. Everyone probably does have experience with some kind of addiction. The other thing that was said in class is that we can have empathy (which means to understand what it might feel like to be in someone else's shoes) without being them or having their experiences. Still, sometimes it rubs the wrong way when someone implies that they know what it feels like to be you, especially when you disagree with them and what they are saying.