Yes, I understand Trace, alcoholics can build up a tolerance and seem to function normally while under the influence. But, often what happens is these individuals use the alcohol in the beginning to "avoid" feeling and to help them be less inhibited. So, instead of actually growing and maturing into an adult that works through emotional challenges, they tend to only reach the maturity level of the age they began to use the alcohol.

My daughter would say to me, "Daddy was always so happy go lucky, it was you mom that tended to be more stressful". What she doesn't realize is that I did not really have another ADULT partner in my marriage, instead I often had a husband that was a child who turned to alcohol when things got challenging. Children tend to embrace the "child part" they see in the parent, they don't actually see how the true ADULT part is missing which is much harder on the other parent.