Not long ago I interviewed a man who had decided that alcohol as a beverage had reduced him to a condition that lay somewhere between inefficiency and discontent, on the one hand, and potential ruination on the other.

He could not confine his drinking to the occasion of which it was supposed to be a part, but continued it for at least one and often more
 successive days.

In other words, he belonged to a class of people known as alcoholics. 

Though emotionally out of hand, he was intellectually honest, and therefore he had no delusions as to his ability to confine
 his indulgence within normal time limits.

One drink always led to another, and, what was far more serious, one night almost  invariably led to another day. Every so often, medical intervention was necessary.

He said to me, " I know I cannot stand alcohol. I must confess that an infrequent and short sojourn on the 'water wagon' is all that my efforts to control my habit  amount to. I have been admonished until I am sick of it, although what has been said to me is perfectly true and
 unquestionably deserved. Much of it has been said by people whose opinions I respect, people who in most instances themselves drink.

"While I have been severely criticized a few times, to be sure, I have as a rule met with more kindness than I have a right to expect. Furthermore, I have given myself many talks in the same vein which seem to me to be even better than those I have listened to. I have made resolutions not to drink at all as well as to drink with various limitations, but, except for an occasional month or fortnight spent 'on the wagon' in discontented sobriety, I never seem to get anywhere.

"Once I stayed on for six months, but I have never wanted to try to repeat the experience, if for no other reason than that I don't think I could. Needless to say, I fell off with a crash and started making up for lost time, though it had not been my original intention to do so." 

Because he had ability as a salesman, a position which did not require daily attendance at the office, he kept his job. 

 Because he was attractive, made money, and was always kind even under the effects of alcohol, he kept his wife. Because he was endowed with a strong physical constitution, he apparently kept his health.

Nevertheless he unquestionably stated the truth when he said, " If I keep this life up much longer, I don't see how I can fail to lose everything." 

This individual, while intelligent and educated, is nevertheless a typical drunkard of the somewhat milder variety. He might drink even less and still be classed as a chronic alcoholic, but on the other hand he has by no means reached the lowest depths of disintegration as a result of his habit.
While genuinely anxious to allay a condition that has become alarming, he does not in truth understand his present situation or its potentialities for the future, nor is he understood by his fellow beings. 

By his family, friends, and the public in general he is condemned out of hand as being a moral delinquent who could perfectly well control himself if he wanted to do so.

In their criticism moderate drinkers, often show less sympathetic understanding of his condition than teetotalers. This the sufferer from alcoholism puts down as hypocrisy, when in reality it is misunderstanding.

His actions are quite naturally considered at their face value without regard to inner impulses and their causes. "Why can't that fellow handle liquor the way I do?" is the comment of the normal drinker. "There is no need for anyone to make a fool of himself once he has had enough," he adds, and forthwith proceeds to instruct the alcoholic in how to drink moderately, not realizing that he is attempting to teach what can never be learned.

Ignorance and good intentions often work closely together. The conduct of the alcoholic need not be condoned, but his personality and his problems must be understood if he is to be helped.

~~~
From the book by Richard R. Peabody, Ph.D.
© (1930) Little, Brown and Co. Boston