Taking a bath as they say (my uncle used to do it until he developed cancer) is indicative of a problem IMO. When you wake up at 9 AM and start drinking, get drunk the whole day, sleep and repeat the whole cycle, that's when you definitively have a problem.
Yes and no. I know many people that would be well served if they removed this idea of, "Well, i can't be an alcoholic because i don't drink beer for breakfast" notion from their minds. I was never like that either, but I did use it as an escape at almost every opportunity I could. I would spend an enormous portion of my waking life rumination about alcohol and strategizing over how to get away with it. When will i start drinking today? How much will I drink and not have a hangover? Well, theres that dinner at 7 tonight. Do you think they'll each have one or two drinks? Would i get some stares if i have three drinks?
Sure, that is definitely a justification one can use. My point is that you need some reference point to compare your own behavior with. There are some people that should have never started drinking in the first place. That I agree with. It's a nexus of genetics and environment. A lot of it is influenced by cultural norms.
Pardon the side step but it reminds me of my life not long ago. Replace browsing with drinking. Obviously less harmful 'addiction' but the 'do a single thing to somehow avoid life everyday' sounds like an interesting diagnosis pattern.
