I was married to an alcoholic and the best explanation I found for it was this...
This is really interesting Elwar, thanks for writing it. In my case the alcoholic gene hit my grandmother (drank beer only), dad (bad), missed me and hit my sister. I'm a pretty big guy, but when I was drinking with my sister before a wedding I was downing beers while she was downing the same amount of gin and she still managed to drink me under a table (I can drink a bunch of college students under the table, but that's more fluid dynamics).
I consider the definition of an alcoholic to ask them how much booze is in the house. If you ask me there's a couple of beers in the fridge and I think a bit of fireball in the back of the cabinet. Ask my sister and you will get an EXACT count down to the state of each bottle. That is pretty wild.
Personally I have stopped almost completely. Not because I was addicted but I have realized that I may be rich enough in my old age to be able to afford the life extension treatments that most will not have access to. But I don't want to be old and falling apart when that happens so I'm trying to choose a healthy lifestyle. Alcohol adds nothing positive to your body and for me was always something I used as a crutch to socialize better. But fuck that, I'd rather live for 100s of years than be the life of the party.
*nod* I rarely drink myself (maybe a beer a month?) but I do want everything in my body to fall apart at exactly the same moment when I die. That way I can say I got 100% use out of the thing and didn't leave behind unused lungs, heart, or liver capacity. So I really should be drinking more and start smoking again...
Which drives my doctor nuts.
