I’m not suggesting anyone do anything. I’m just saying that if I found myself in a situation where I thought I needed to crack back on/stop my drinking, I would self-ground and do what I could in order to get it in check myself first. I would not lie on an 8500-8, but I would avoid the formal diagnosis to the maximum extent possible, for as long as possible. It’s easier to explain to the FAA that you saw the potential for things to go sideways, so you took care of it, than to call them and tell them you were just diagnosed with AUD. Take from that what you will. For the record. I don’t drink.

Providing a little context about the while ‘what constitutes abuse’ question, let me provide a scenario that is based on the current DSM-V criteria (which no longer delineates between dependency and abuse):

You don’t drink frequently. Maybe once every few weeks or so. During the summer, it’s usually drinking a few beers in your backyard pool with your family. On the rare special occasion (a friend’s bachelor party or birthday, for example) you may bend to peer pressure end up having more drinks than you had planned, and wake up the next morning with a hangover, with some difficulty remembering the very end of the night. It never interferes with family, job, etc. You never get behind the wheel while intoxicated.

Per the DSM-V, you meet the criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder - Moderate.

What many, many people consider to be normal, acceptable drinking falls into the mild-moderate range in the eyes of the medical community. Unless you only have the occasional glass of wine with dinner, be VERY careful.