Your spot on and as a fellow alcoholic abstinence is the only road. For those out there who argue your point have not felt enough pain and consequence from their drinking after all misery loves company. I have met many recovering people who play those mental games myself included. I was sober for 26 years and convinced myself I had flushed out all of the reasons I drank and that I could be a social drinker. Once that first sip passed my lips 3.5 yrs ago I was off to the races again. A race to another bottom. Within two weeks I was drinking alone, drinking and driving and all the same compulsive shitty thinking was back. Having nearly drown in a pool I put it back down and went straight back to AA. For those of us in AA we have a global community of like minded people who get it, keep each other sober, are not met with judgement and chose a higher power that works for each of us. For those that think it’s a cult they have not tried meetings long enough to settle the negative thinking of alcoholism. We all end up where we need to be-sober and free if we chose to be.