DaveT

All i know for myself is that i couldn't quit and alcohol was taking everything from me, i tried to label , understand , figure it out Etc Etc Etc , in the end i had to stop by whatever method worked for me True enlightenment is that i really don't know anything, all i have is my own experience which is built upon and changed by life daily, its my Ego that knows stuff about you and me ! Even today nearly 14 years sober , knowing stuff cannot treat my alcoholism ! Thats my problem and i found a solution that works for me !

2granddaughters

I am just curious as to how many people here feel that either their own drinking problems or alcoholism in general is always/often/sometimes rooted in psychological factors --

It doesn't make any difference how I "feel" about my alcoholism. How I "felt" about things was just what got me into the mess I was in.

I had to accept the treatment on faith and surrender to it. I had to stop judging those things that I knew nothing/little about.

All the best.

Bob R

gaffo

Maybe but I was definitely predisposed alcoholic and after 25 years of hard drinking it really didn't matter because whatever "problems" I was "treating" were long buried under 50,000 beer bottles. I believe that drinking creates it's own sets of problems that divert attention from other stuff.

Olive1

Hi,
I believe my alcoholism is a heavy dose of genetic predisposition, fueled by years of low self esteem.

MeSoSober

Still following the responses here. Thanks, everyone, for the input!!

luckyinlife

I started drinking because of insomnia, but as the alcoholism progressed, I developed anxiety, depression and another mood disorder. It is quite possible that the psychological problems were there all along. Alcohol just magnified them and brought them to the forefront.

All I accept right now is that my mental health is much more stable when I am off alcohol completely.

AudreyAna

There's plenty of underlying issues in my case, my Major Depression started when I was 14, and the drinking started when I was 15. I ended up drinking to cope with anything and everything that happened, and when I finally got sober I went to an amazing rehab that was able to deal with all of my other issues too.

Alcoholism runs in my family, but it was also a great way of not dealing with anything. Now I have to face everything, and it's so strange to me! I've almost got 6 months sober now, and I'm constantly finding out how emotionally stunted I am because of the drinking. I thought I had learned a lot from mistakes I made in the past, but I just drank it away. Now I'm making new mistakes and actually learning from them, how silly!

Live2Run25

Certainly is for me.

My dad abandoned me when I was 4. My mom had me as a teenager and spent the first several years of my life trying to be a young adult and wasn't prepared to be a single parent. I felt neglected, unloved, and like I wasn't worthy of anything. When I drank, I felt like I had friends, I felt less anxious, and I felt social. I've quit drinking, but have not addressed my other issues. I really need to do this. Need to look into therapy but don't really know where to start.

EndGameNYC

Great question, difficult answer.

Many people become "problem drinkers" and/or alcoholics following a stable childhood and without any severe underlying psychiatric problems. Other people develop psychopathology only after they've been drinking heavily for some time.

In the end, what matters most to me is what I do right now with the hand I've been dealt. As long as I take care of myself, I've got a good shot at living a good life.

KatarinaDoll

I am quickly realizing how much resentment I had... even for something as simple as someone getting more attention than me, in any situation. I didn't like it socially, so I drank in order to act out (get attention), and places where I couldn't drink (like work) I plainly didn't have the courage to garner positive attention, so I disassociated in order to disappear. Kinda sad stuff now that I realize it. But, regardless, I'd rather face this reality and learn from it now that I have the truth, rather than be drunk around it.

DylanS

There is a book, "Under the Influence" that does an excellent job explaining the metabolic deficiency that is the physical component of alcoholism. In the Big Book of AA, they posit that it is an allergy of sorts, which was a great theory given their scientific knowledge at that time.

Just as schizophrenia has both a biologic and an environmental/stressor component, I believe alcoholism to be the same. I have the genetic and biological issue AND I had the psychological issues which combined to create the perfect storm of alcoholism.

Boleo

I myself wasted at lest 5 years barking up the "Psychology Tree" in search of a remedy to my drinking problem. Turns out my type of alcohol-ISM is not not only up a different tree, it is not even in the same forest as Psychology. Nor is it in science, philosophy or religion.

Only a spiritual solution could solve my type of alcohol-ISM and alcohol was just half the equation. The ISM was the other half. Till I treated that half, my sobriety was just transient.

DaveT

"No Human Power Could Have Relieved Our Alcoholism" - Big Book of AA. For me this was true. For me there was only one solution , A Power Greater Than Me. The Doctors opinion gives some ideas as to what works and what doesn't for Chronic Alcoholics....."We tried to find an easier softer way, but we couldn't " For me it wasn't important where or how I am alcoholic I cannot change the past I must treat the present , its all i have.... A label is not a solution or cure....

Isaiah

All I know for sure is that alcohol did not become problematic for me until I started going through a lengthy and intense psychological crisis. My 'few beers on the weekend' routine turned into a few throughout the week for calm/escape. From there it just kept escalating fast.

Given what I know and have read about alcoholism I think developing alcoholism would've been inevitable perhaps, but it was definitely psychological issues that drew it out in my case.

MeSoSober

No, it isn't. But if someone drinks even in part because of psychological trauma (beyond everyday or even greater-than-usual "stress," it strikes me as important both to treat the alcoholism AND to address that underlying contributing factor.

PippiLngstockng

I want to do a consecutive poll of nonalcoholics.

If you aren't an alcoholic, why is that?

As a teen surrounded by fellow teens who drank cast quantities, I knew I was different. A couple of beers and I desperately wanted to stop drinking. Whatever drink it might be, in fact, made me feel bloated, tired and bored.

And truth be told, I couldn't stand being around the stupidity of drunken fools.

I tried, I really did. I did better with marijuana. I was probably addicted in my teens/ twenties. But then again, the moment I decided to stop, I stopped. No prob.

I had a hard life growing up. I had lots of psychological issues and experiences that led ne to dating and befriending the addicted youth around me. I partied with them every night for years.

So all this to say that there has got to be a strong physical component. My AH's family is replete with alcoholics. Not so with mine. They have a good helping of psychological issues, but not addiction, to my knowledge.

DylanS

Pippi - to read about the physical component, there're some excerpts from, "Under the Influence" here on SR: