I thought an alcoholic looked something like this.
Hello everyone. My name is Vernon, and I'm an alcoholic. I would first like to thank God for giving me the strength, knowledge and wisdom to remain sober from alcohol for over two years now. It is truly a blessing! Before I realized what an alcoholic was, I had a picture in my mind of a person - reeking of alcohol - standing outside of a liquor store begging for money; a person holding up a sign standing on a freeway service drive that had drank themself out of their job, house, marriage, etc. The support group of Alcoholics Anonymous taught me that this is not always the case. I learned that an alcoholic is simply someone who cannot control their drinking. A person who, after beginning to drink, finds it almost impossible to stop. Although everyone has different reasons for drinking, I "primarily" chose to drink because I had problems with acceptance. It was difficult - and still is at times - for me to accept people, places and things that I could not change. This resulted in me drinking endlessly for 8 years and traveling down a road of darkness and despair.
