Alcoholism is widely recognized as a disease – a compulsion to drink accompanied by an allergy to alcohol. It is often called a spiritual malady. It is important to remember that the alcoholic does not chose their path no more than the family of the alcoholic chooses to suffer.
I have listened to hundreds of AA speakers and with very few exceptions I hear the speaker describe an inability to feel comfortable in their own skin – a discomfort with who they are in the world. Alcohol may make them feel comfortable in their own skin, able to interact with others or simply as though they fit in their own skin. This, I can understand without judgement.