I knew I had a real problem with alcohol from the first time I blacked out at 17 and nearly burned myself in an after prom campfire. I soon learned that if you tell someone that you 'might' have a problem, you are immediately talked out of it or labeled an alcoholic for life, destined to meet up in musty church basements where everyone's name is 'anonymous'. So, I believed I had no choice but to be the best functioning drinker possible. As I saw it, I just had to keep it hidden. And I did, till I couldn't.