ajangel

I had a memory this morning and it got me to thinking. When I was younger, all my brothers and sisters did mushrooms, took qualudes, did acid and smoked dope. I did smoke dope now and again but I never liked the paranoid feeling I would get. I was terrified to try all those other drugs. When I was 24, my ex and I did coke about 6 times. I stopped doing it because I like it and did not want to get addicted. At that time, I was drinking nearly every night. Although my dad and brother was an alcoholic, it never once occurred to me that I was addicted or would be addicted. Here I am 20 years later. How could I not think alcohol was going to ruin my life? I didn't think I had addictive behavior like my druggie brother and sisters. Thanking God I am sober today. Peace

Charon

I am glad you are sober. Sorry about your sister and brother. It's hard to see someone you care for suffer.

Threshold

I totally understand where you are coming from. I knew addiction ran in my family and I knew I had an addictive personality. For decades I avoided substances...drugs, booze, smokes. Didn't touch the stuff.

I thought then that as long as I stayed away from substances, I had this thing beat. I didn't know that there were all these inner issues that were the real heart of addiction. I hoarded things, had eating disorders and a disordered sexual life, these things concerned me. Then I thought, heck I'm a grown up, I can have a drink, take a few pills to help me sleep and quell the growing anxiety inside. I can lose weight by not eating.

Guess I couldn't outsmart or outrun this thing. Now I am dealing with the underlying issues, because I know if I don't, I will just put down one thing and pick up something else. My issue isn't the substances, it's me trying to use them to blanket me from my own life.

ACT10Npack

I think because alcohol is legal and thinking something that is legal can't get addicted to.

Supercrew

For me it was the legality of it. I was hardnosed against drugs in my teen years. My parents made me know in no uncertain terms that drugs are for losers...as they drank their gin and tonics and wine. I was also warned by an older friend of mine to never try coke because he knew my personality and he said, "it is better than sex, and you will like it too much...so never try it".

I looked down on any illegal substance as I drank cases of beer every weekend during my teen years. I am still a hardliner against the legalization of marijuana, and I talk to my sons about how drugs are bad, "and they don't call it dope because it makes you smarter", but now I also add my 2 cents about the evils of alcohol.

amandah09

Its harder to think of it as an addiction one from looking at your self, and also the fact that what your brother and sister are doing are not legal, but drinking is, makes a bit of a difference