I have had 15+ drinks in a single night before, but probably only on 2-3 occasions in my life (one of them being my 30th birthday, where a mostly-sober friend was keeping track until 23 drinks). So I at least know what that's like, in isolation. But my personality doesn't push me to just go and go and go.
I'm not saying there isn't a slippery slope, but I personally cannot imagine my life without at least some alcohol. I assume for the case of someone where their (excessive) alcohol intake has a huge negative impact on their life, zero alcohol sounds like a much better deal than drinking a lot.
But I still question the accepted "fact" that this is really a fixed "personality" thing. We humans have extraordinary brains and have the power to -- possibly with help -- change a lot of things about our personality and emotional state. It seems hard to believe that "once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic" is actually absolutely true.
of course it's not absolutely true. you're not wise to something everyone else is blind to - some people are totally able to cut down. the people who say it's impossible are AA people, and that's basically a religion.
but look at you - 2-3 occasions in your life - the people who have problems cutting down are doing that 2-3 times a week and are completely functional. it's a completely different personality type.
the bottom line is, for a lot of people, it's a LOT easier to stop than to 'cut down'. this isn't a magical premise. in fact i think it makes a lot of sense. similarly, for a lot of people, stopping is impossible. and that's how you get numbers like 74 drinks a week which sounds fucking ludicrous at first blush, but is in fact quite doable.
One might expect alcohol consumption to be roughly normally distributed, but clearly it is not when the top 10% is so far off the chart. Imagine what it would be like to drink 74 drinks in a week. I've been a heavy drinker at times, but that amount blows my mind. And that's just the middle of the top 10%. I love me some booze, but that amount is so far beyond what I would consider enjoyable that there would have to be something seriously, irrationally wrong with me to partake to that degree on a regular basis.
That's what addiction is. It's like asking why someone with OCD can't simply not wash their hands. It's mind bending to even imagine for someone who hasn't had that experience. I've dealt with obsession and compulsion at times in my life (not as a disorder), and I know how hard it is for me to modify habits and fixations. True addiction is some next level shit.
I can understand why it's difficult for you to imagine how a person could be unable to stop with just one drink. It's similarly difficult for a non-depressed person to understand why a depressed person is miserable even when things seem to be going well, or for a neurotypical person to understand why an autistic person is freaked out by seemingly minor stimuli.
These are, however, all things that have been extensively studied and documented and affect millions of people. It's not necessary for you to be able to really get inside the head of an alcoholic, but that shouldn't keep you from accepting that this is simply how things are for some people.
I'm not saying there isn't a slippery slope, but I personally cannot imagine my life without at least some alcohol. I assume for the case of someone where their (excessive) alcohol intake has a huge negative impact on their life, zero alcohol sounds like a much better deal than drinking a lot.
But I still question the accepted "fact" that this is really a fixed "personality" thing. We humans have extraordinary brains and have the power to -- possibly with help -- change a lot of things about our personality and emotional state. It seems hard to believe that "once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic" is actually absolutely true.