Anonymity and my alcoholism

Anonymity is actually more complex than I thought at first - I thought it was just “not telling anyone my surname”!!

In addition to not using my surname at media level, and not breaking other people’s anonymity, I believe I have to be careful who I tell about my disease.

Once I had “settled in” to AA I got quite enthusiastic about what AA was doing for myself and others, and was prepared to tell almost anyone. Nowadays I’m still enthusiastic, but more tempered in who I tell, and when.

I don’t tell people “I’m an alcoholic” unless I have the opportunity to explain what I mean by alcoholic. Otherwise they will be left with the logical impression that I’m a compulsive, heavy drinker. The non-alcoholic has no concept of “sober alcoholic” so unless I can explain this properly to them, I don’t tell them anything.

Something else that concerns me is that if I do have a “bust” and start drinking again, the name of AA could be tarnished in the eyes of those in whom I’ve confided; they might have less confidence in AA’s ability to help. I would like to think that by telling non-alcoholics about AA, they could tell friends/relatives with a drinking problem.

I’m more thoughtful nowadays about who I tell, but still fairly ready to tell others in the hope that some good may come of it.