Am I an Alcoholic?

According to the book, "Alcoholics Anonymous", the basic text of our program;

   "If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic."

Despite the fact that many of us have experienced unpleasant consequences due to our drinking, this does NOT define our alcoholism.  I personally have known an alcoholic who finally died of liver failure, who had a couple million in the bank, a great house and job, and had never worn a pair of handcuffs. 

Normal drinkers don't want more, but we alcoholics have an abnormal physical reaction to alcohol that creates an almost insatiable need for more, once we start to drink. 

The real insanity of alcoholism is that we have a mind that can't leave alone what our bodies can't handle. 

Dr. William Silkworth describes us as "restless, irritable and discontented unless we can again experience the sense of ease and comfort that comes at once from taking a few drinks."  He goes on to say that unless we alcoholics can experience an entire psychic change, there is very little hope for our recovery.