meli2005

My AH's parents are both alcoholics and both have bipolar d/o. My AH also has bipolar. So I do worry about my son and how he will turn out. I have depression problems. Oh, I will just pray and hope I can influence him to take the right paths in life...

always

If your family tree only has one branch....You just may be a redneck *LOL*

That is really funny!!!

BigSis

I can count the "normies" on one hand... and that is back two generations and out to the second and third cousins. My husband's might be only a bit less.

We are both alcohlic and we both quit drinking and smoking when we got married because "good parents don't do that". We thought changing the environment would make all the difference.

Both of our kids are addicts.

I am glad I didn't know about the genetic link before. But it was their drug use that got ME into 12-step recovery... and that was when I discovered a Higher Power who has been in charge... all along.

We all have lessons to learn in life. I believe certain challenges are set before us, our choice lies in how we react to those challenges. Knowing that, I know that my children DO have a Higher Power, and that Higher Power cares for them even more than me. This helps me sleep.

L8YNRED

Seems to me like in my family if you aren't the alcoholic or addict, then you marry one.

My Dad's side - Grandfather, Father, Uncle all alcoholic. My cousins on my dad's side -one addict, one alcoholic and one seemed ok, but we don't really know because he died very young.

My immediate family - both brothers alcoholic. My mother, my sister and myself all seriously codependent.

My daughters are both with pot smokers ("but they don't drink") and are really good caretakers, they had me for a role model.

My mother's side - My grandparents were sober as far as I know. Of her four sisters and four brothers, all four brothers have/had alcohol or drug issues. One sister is alcoholic. One sister seems ok, but her whole family is obese, so there's something going on there. The other two married alcoholics at least once.

In my cousins on my mother's side, we have it all: drug addicts, alchoholics, obesity, codependence.

I don't worry about my kids being alcoholic, I worry about them being codependent. They say they want to be like me, they think I'm great. I tell them, no be like you and be happier than I have been...

herewegoagain

Ohhh....let me tell you.

Both of my parents are alcoholics. In addition, my mother is also a prescription drug addict and has severe mental health issues (last diagnosis was bipolar disorder). My mother's younger brother was an alcoholic and drug addict. He died alone in his apartment in Florida in the middle of summer. He was found four days later. He'd had a very very rough life - all because of drugs and alcohol - and should have died several times over.

Both of my grandfathers were alcoholics (both are now deceased). My father is one of six children - at least 3, possibly 4 of the 6 of them are alcoholic. My great grandfather on my mother's side was a drug addict and possibly an alcoholic as well. He was one of 22 children (gotta love us Irish Catholics, lol), so I'd be very surprised if he was the only one.

I myself have never had an issue with drugs or alcohol. I do, however, have issues with sugar. I'm hypoglycemic and have been battling being overweight since my 20's. I have also had PTSD and depression since very early childhood.

My husband's biological father was an alcoholic and drug addict.

So as you can see, my son and the child I'm carrying have quite the interesting genetic background. I was fully aware of these things before even getting pregnant with my son. All I can do is make him aware of his genetic predisposition, and teach him about responsible alcohol use. There are no guarantees in life - for anything.

LaTeeDa

One of my all-time favorite movies is "Parenthood." And one of the best lines in that movie is where Mary Steenburgen's and Steve Martin's characters are discussing that she is pregnant with their 4th child. He is agonizing over how good a father he is and what if's about how the child will turn out, and she says to him "So, what do you want, guarantees? They're children, not appliances! Life is messy."

LOL, but soooo true.

L

L8YNRED

Sure there is. It is guaranteed that you will die one day. That is life's only guarantee.

cupowater

My Father, BOTH of his parents, my Brother, my SO, my sons father and his father. YES! I worry a LOT about them becoming alcoholics!!!