I found a lot depended on the group of people. Some advocate the idea of it being a disease and to support the alcoholic/addict. That mindset tended to encourage codependency which a person loses their boundaries and is lost to the mood swing cycles of the addict.

There is a lot involved when dealing with alcoholism/addiction and self medicating. For example many like my husband use alcohol as a way to deal with their ADHD. I attended some AA meetings to support my husband and found many with ADHD like him.

However, over the years and more efforts to study and find out who is prone to alcohol/drug addictions they have learned more. There are also those with bipolar and borderline personality disorder and ptsd and NPD. Lots of alcoholics are functioning using alcohol to maintain with binges of drinking more at night often hitting the bars where they locate others that also drink.

I came across couples who both had alcoholism/addiction problems. That was common with those who chose to hang out in bars that also had entertainment. We owned a restaurant with a bar and had bands. I saw a lot that revolves around drinking and the drinking lifestyle