Are you born with alcoholism?
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 675
Originally Posted by 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.
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.
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Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: PRINCETON, TX
Posts: 113
"But what about the real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control over his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink".
Quoted from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, chapter entitled "There is a solution", p. 21
The words, "at some point" say to me that it is a developed disease rather than being like being blue eyed, tall, thin, etc. In other words, people who never drink, never become alcoholics for sure. People who do drink, some become alcoholics.
Hope that is food for thought!
Quoted from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, chapter entitled "There is a solution", p. 21
The words, "at some point" say to me that it is a developed disease rather than being like being blue eyed, tall, thin, etc. In other words, people who never drink, never become alcoholics for sure. People who do drink, some become alcoholics.
Hope that is food for thought!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 274
Originally Posted by golfreggie
Well said
There are some seemingly reliable recent studies that show that there indeed is a gene, the name of which I forget, that is tied to alcoholism and impulsiveness (interestingly enough) and is prevalent in certain populations.
There are, or were, lots of alcoholics in my family. They lived their lives, I don't think any of them had much treatment, if any, but I have to live my life and that includes pursuing recovery "with whatever it takes".
Rehab, therapy, AA and counseling as well as medical help are available today. I sometimes see posts here stating that those tools are unavailable in remote areas or for financial reasons, and that certainly can be a huge problem, but most hospitals, for example, offer financial assistance and have case managers. AA is free and the people there are so nice that they will pick you up to go to a meeting if you don't have transportation. Where I live (it's a very small town in a remote area) there is also a mental health and substance abuse treatment facility that offers services from psychiatrists to group therapy on a sliding scale, based on your income. Find a solution! We can do it.
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