Two books that have been helpful with my understanding of the physical, genetic basis for addiction are -
Under the Influence (Milam and Ketchum)and
Beyond the Influence (Ketchum... and someone whose name escapes me).
We have excerpted parts of the Under the Influence in the Alcoholism forum - here is the link:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html
Why did I take my first drink & drug? Same reason as everybody else... curiousity. 95% of all young adults claim to have tried drugs or alcohol by age 25. Trying it was perfectly normal. Except, I'm not a normie... so my experience was different.
When YOU had a bad consequence as a result of drinking or drugging... say a hangover, a wrecked car, a broken curfew... etc. YOU probably thought - "I need to quit doing that"... and did.
When *I* had those bad consequences 1 of 2 things happened. My FIRST thought was, "I need to learn to drink "right". Second, I began, almost immediately, to build a tolerance to the drink & drug... it soon took more to get that same happy glo. I could "drink others under the table" before I had been drinking for even 6 months. Right from the get-go I drank like a drunk... I NEVER drank like a social drinker.
I got sober because I was motivated to do so. For me, it was having kids and a family... that was the BIGGEST thing in my life, and I had planned it for ...ever.
What I know today, 23 years later, is that I am still an addict. That a couple of surgeries and some Percoset were enough to convince me that I cannot take those pills as prescribed... and I have NEVER gotten my eating under control... and under stress a few years ago, I discovered I was using gambling to relieve stress.... and when I taught aerobics I became so enamored of the feeling I got from it I was working out HARD three times a day... when my first marriage was falling apart, I found myself nearly LIVING at my job, always doing more more more....
It is there... behind almost everything I do... obsession and compulsion. In addition to the physical intolerance.
Addiction is HUGE.... it is far, far more than just drinking or not, or drugging or not. It is an element in almost every facet of my life.