On through the years this conduct continues, accompanied by his continual promises to be careful or to keep off the streets altogether. Finally, he can no longer work. His wife divorces him and he is held up to ridicule. He tries every known means to get the jay-walking idea out of his head. He shuts himself up in an asylum hoping to mend his ways. But the day he comes out, he races in front of a fire engine that breaks his back. Such a man would be considered crazy, wouldn't he (Pg. 37, Alcoholics Anonymous 1939)?.
You may think this illustration ridiculous. But the alcoholic, who has been through the wringer, would have to admit if they substituted alcoholism for jay-walking, the illustration would fit. However intelligent an alcoholic has been in other respects of their lives, where alcohol has been involved, they have been strangely insane (p. 38, Alcoholics Anonymous 1939).
Alcoholism develops insidiously; often there is no clear line between problem drinking and alcoholism. The only early indications of alcoholism may be the unpleasant physical responses to withdrawal that occur during even brief periods of abstinence. Sometimes people experience long-term depression or anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, or personal or work stress that lead to the use of alcohol for relief, but often no extraordinary events have occurred that account for the drinking problem (p. 223, Torr 1974).
Alcoholics have little or no control over the quantity they drink or the duration or frequency of their drinking. They are preoccupied with drinking, deny their own addiction and continue to drink even though they are aware of the dangers. Over time some people become tolerant to the affects of drinking and require more alcohol to become intoxicated, creating the illusion that they can "hold their liquor."" They have blackouts after drinking and frequent hangovers that cause them to miss work and participate in other normal activities.