Originally Posted by
dollydo 
Welcome, glad you found us. Addiction does seem to run in families. I do wonder sometimes, both my parents were alcoholics,Mom still is, Dad quit 10 years ago. I am not addicted to anything, nor is my brother...makes me wonder how we "Didn't catch the disease"...neither of us have children so at least we don't have to worry about passing the disease on. Dolly
Dear Dolly,
Science has proved unequivocally there is a genetic defect that causes addiction. This is no longer a theory, but a proven FACT. You don't "catch" genetic disorders. They are ingrained in your DNA. And you sure do have to worry about passing the disease on, because it's a gene...it can be recessive (hidden) or dominant (obvious), but it's still there. It can skip several generations only to surface again in a grandchild or greatgrandchild.
Also, I have never found a single person with four grandfather alcholics that did not have some sort of addiction. It could be sex, food, the computer, anything....but it's there. I'm talking about my four grandfathers, of course, you only mentioned your mother and father.
If you are serious about you and your brother never having kids, then the genetic defect will die out. But we play a game of dice everyday that we wake up....taking a chance, having kids is still the most fullfulling thing to do.
Love, SM