Fusion

Glad to read this Redmayne, the route into addiction matters not: it’s the action taken to stop, that’s important.

August252015

Agree with Scott- I only have the "discussion" or "why" thought out to this extent because I do believe in the disease model as I described it (pardon if those aren't the right words but I think y'all know what I mean), and know that whatever the "real truth, voila! eureka!" is doesn't matter because I'm flat out an alcoholic and that's what I have to accept.

NYCDoglvr

In my family there were no alcoholics but an aunt addicted to pills. At any rate, I never saw someone high or even slightly intoxicated. I had my first drink at age nine. My father had an occasional shot of Seagrams so when my parents were in another room I got out the bottle and shot glass, put it down very fast as I'd seen him do. I gagged, I almost vomited. Then I had two more.

Stayingsassy

Some people have a gene that changes acetaldehyde to an opioid like chemical in the brain called "THIQ." Some people don't.

Its triggered by an overload of acetaldehyde in the brain, which many people get when they drink too much, but only genetic alcoholics get that feeling, that all is right in the world, I might as well be an infant in my mothers arms, or in bed with the perfect lover, or found nirvana itself right here on earth, feeling.

It means we seek it out as much as we can, the more we use, the greyer normal life looks, as we gradually lose the ability to enjoy any part of life at all without it because our dopamine receptors take such a consistent hit that they stop receiving pleasure at all. Which is why early sobriety sucks so hard. Your brain is pissed.

Genetic, mostly. Some people have the thiq gene but recognize they like it too much and they come from a long line of drunks so stop feeding it, drink rarely or not at all. And some don't realize why drinking alcohol is their dream come true, they just indulge, and keep hitting the lever until they are fully realized alcoholics.

They are both born and made.

Gottalife

An expert stated the science says it is a brain disease, genetic in nature. However, evironmental factors play a role in determining whether the gene gets switched on or not. He said about 50-50 genetics and environment in combination. This explains while alcoholism in a family sometimes skips a generation or two, or affects some siblings but not others.

I also agree it is not wise to get too hung up on the why, but I think that really applies to the idea of blaming someone or something. That is not helpful.

On the other hand, knowing the fact that I was born that way clearly shifts the cause from the myriad of other excuses that alcoholics use to justify their behaviour. My favourites were a head injury, and a dodgy child hood, neither of which were real. With todays advances in mental health I could add dental trauma as well, and that was real. None of that caused my alcoholism, it wasn't the reason I drank. Acoholism was the reason I drank and when I got treatment for alcoholism, I recovered.

Redmayne

'Always run the shortest route. And the short route is the natural, by which one says and does things most soundly. For suchan end delivers one from toils and warfare, and from al scheming and false adornment.' - Marcus Aurelius - 'Meditations'4.51

nez

I used to spend a lot of time cogitating on questions such as the one posted here. Not so much any more. I came to the conclusion that while the answer would be intriguing, it wouldn't have near as much impact on my future as my present actions do.

entropy1964

Some people have a gene that changes acetaldehyde to an opioid like chemical in the brain called "THIQ." Some people don't.

Hey Stayingsassy

Can you post the links for this information? I'm really just curious. I read lots about the THIQ connection years ago but thought it had been debunked.

An actual gene identification would be pretty intriguing....

Fusion

Me too, I thought the 1970s THIQ alcohol connection was debunked.....of course I stand to be corrected.

Stayingsassy

I read it in a book once.

Looks like its been debunked, brought back, debunked, brought back, over and over, probably based on who believes or does not believe the hypothesis.

When I first read it, it made such perfect sense to me personally, and in regard to how I saw my father respond to alcohol that I believed it right away. Why were we so different when we drank? Why did we seek it out with more abandon than anyone we knew? Growing up I never understood why I was more in love with alcohol than anyone I'd met. This explained it.

daredevil

debunked or not, it definitely makes sense intuitively. In any event, even if it was debunked it doesn't mean it didn't have merit in the intervening years since it was posited.

Forward12

THIQ has been found to be false. It's still not exactly known what causes alcoholism, but most findings come down to a mental defect in those predisposed to alcoholism.
In a normal brain, after a drink or two once the "buzz" starts to set in, their brains send out an alarm that there is a toxic substance in their body, stopping them to drink.
In an alcoholic, the reverse happens. Once the first sip goes down, the rational part of the brain completely shuts off and for some reason triggers a massive dopamine dump giving the alcoholic a "high" normal drinkers do not experience. This combination leads to the alcoholic drinking themselves into a drunken stupor, without care of the consequences it causes.

Bunny211

I think we turn to alcohol as a way to cope with pain and anguish and deep trauma. I do not believe we are born alcoholic.

daredevil

Since the 'mental defect' can't be found in PET, SPECT, or fMRI's ascribing alcoholism a neurological basis is just theory and speculation.

That's akin to saying there is a neurological basis for lack of effective coping mechanisms.

Stayingsassy

Except: some alcoholics don't have deep pain and anguish and trauma. My father and I both have lived a sort of charmed life with a lot of luck and love. Still fully alcoholic since we were teens, though.

So Forward: basically its not THIQ but its a high alcoholics get that nonalcoholics don't. So same concept.

I'm a believer that its mostly genetic, I believe about 90% so. But that's just me, and my experiences, and what I've seen growing up and in my adult life.

There was literally no environmental or psychological reason for my father and me to be alcoholic. We were born that way. All we had to do was try our first drink.

JJ991

This is really interesting, I hadn't thought much about it before.

I had no trauma in early life but I still started drinking young; I remember having vodka bottles in my room at the age of 17. In more recent years I've definitely used it to block things out (death of my dad, miscarriage to name a couple) but that isn't how I started.

Thinking about it, I think my maternal grandfather was a problem drinker, always at the pub. My dad also drank most days, but I don't think he drank a huge amount, but I guess it normalised drinking for me. My mum and one brother barely drink at all. My other brother drank lots (& probably still does).

So predisposed but also circumstance makes sense? Interesting.

SoberCAH

I think that my genetic makeup may be akin to a dumpster fire.

Alcoholism has certainly run through most of the trees and branches in my family.

But I certainly took my first drink on a voluntary basis, the following thousands of drinks and what I hope is my last drink.

JeffreyAK

Well it's even more complicated. For me, I had no major childhood trauma, and I also absolutely did *not* love alcohol at first sip, in fact I didn't particularly like it at first, and I just drank because it was the thing to do at the time (high school). My first drug of choice was weed, not alcohol, and I looked down at some of my much heavier-drinking friends as drunks. Yet I quit smoking weed on my own many years ago, just as a personal decision because it was getting in the way of life, but another 20 years down the road I became deeply addicted to alcohol. Neither of my parents drank alcohol at all, either, though my maternal grandfather was known to drink a lot on occasion (but to my knowledge he was never an alcoholic), so if there are genetics in my story they're pretty far back and I don't know about them.

I guess the only single common factor, genes and environment and upbringing aside, is that we all wound up drinking enough alcohol to become addicts. The reasons why we put ourselves in that place vary.

Gottalife

A very good point. My continued sobriety very much depends on my actions today. However, understanding the exact nature of my problem was critical in determing what action to take both in recovery and now.

Random action based in ignorance is unlikely to solve any type of problem. Not that you are suggesting it would.

nez

Mine was alcoholism.

My actions are based on solution, not cause.