You definitely don't want it to define you.

I do not know if you are familiar with AA.
In the book it says it is a physical allergy coupled with a mental obsession. I don't know if AA itself came up with the disease concept or not. I think it was the medical community. It is believed that it is progressive and that it even progresses when you are sober and that if you relapse it will be worse than where you left off. I can't remember if that stuff is in the literature or not or if it just came from members adopting it.

Anyway it does say in the book that "We have recovered from this disease." Most people say I am a recovering alcoholic but many say I am a "Recovered Alcoholic" because it says it in the book.

I say whatever works for you. However you choose to look at it that is healthy for you that is what you do. If you go to meetings don't be afraid to say "I am a recovered alcoholic."

I had a very similar debate with ******* in another thread. It was really about how we chose to look at things differently because that is what worked for us. I don't agree with him on some points about AA philosophy.

It is toward the end of the thread when we got into this debate.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/addic...-meetings.html