"...being an alcoholic is hard and I do not think it is productive."

God's truth, that makes your point crystal clear. It's not doing hard things that does us good. It's doing good things, the right things, and the harder it is, the better we have to be to do them. One of the hardest things I ever did was start from scratch when I realized false beliefs had caused me to fail my family, which betrayed every goal, every value, and every thing I am. That was hard, and I never want to do it again, so I listen hard now, so I can learn quick when I'm wrong and get straightened out before I really fuck things up again.