AngelaFSH

My mother always said my father was an alcoholic but I only saw him drink once in my 18years at home. I thought I would never ever become an alcoholic. I never took my first drink until I was 30yrs old. I married right out of high school and was soon divorced three years later when I was going to college and he resented that I had a college degree. He became a great firemen and accomplished much in his life. We are still great friends. I met a man at 30 who was a mechanical engineer. He drank in the evenings after work and I was so crazy about him I started joining in. We had 10 years together but the drinking out with his buddies usually ended up with him going home with other women. I kept believing he was not cheating because I just did not want to believe he would do that since we seemed to have a wonderful life together. It took me ten years and we never married but I could no longer deny the facts in front of me all the time. After that relationship ended I began drinking to escape the horrible hurt I was going threw. I married a man three years later who went to church and seemed kind. I have found out how this church going man is the most verbally and emotionally abusive. When I wanted to go to rehab, he put me down daily that I was weak and worthless. My problem now is I have been sober with no slips since 2002 but because I just can't live like this after ten years of marriage, he has begun telling every friend we have that I was alcoholic and what a worthless person I am. He takes joy in seeing me hurt or crying. He says I am nothing without him because of my worthlessness. I became a Christian in 2004 and I know that the Lord has forgiven me and this behavior is wrong from my husband. But my husbands inability to stop hurting me is about to send me backwards in that I just feel I want to escape again like I use to. I go to meetings (which he always says ("so you are going to go see your friends the losers), I stay in prayer but my hurt is becoming so much deeper with turning our friends and his family away. Always being so verbally cruel. He brings wine home and throws the bottles at me and says here you want divorce go back to where you were before me. You are just weak and worthless and no one would ever want you and that I am trash. I can't take much more of his abuse. I need your help please help me stay strong! Thank you so very much for listening or reading I should say Deeply hurt in Texas

quitforme79

Both parents alcoholics and mother was into opiates too. Addiction rampant on both sides of my family. Perhaps I can break the cycle.

Olive1

My favorite uncle was an alcoholic. He was drunk and sailing his boat by himself and fell overboard and drowned.
My cousin was an alcoholic. She died in a car crash.
My nephew has sincere potential if he doesn't get his crap together.

It looks like there is just one in every branch of my family.
I am the alcoholic in my branch of the tree.
Wait, I am the recovering alcoholic in my branch of the tree.

breezy77

Born in Fort Hood Texas...Army Base. Dad was an alcoholic. Detoxed in a VA hospital in '86. Mom started drinking in the early 80's. believe she was self medicating due to depression. died of pancreatic cancer. i was a sophomore in high school when she died. saw how she suffered. said that i wouldn't become an alcoholic. now i'm self medicating. i need God's Grace...to save my life.

Nighthawk8820

My parents are both in recovery, and my dads parents had some issues back in the day. So yes, it definitely runs in my family. Doesnt mean it has to be part of my destiny though, not anymore.

ippochick

mother and father alcoholics. stepfather who i grew up with - alcoholic. my great-grandfather died in a lunatic asylum.

my family tree is full of rotten branches. i'm the only one of this generation who is an alcoholic. i have a brother and 3 sisters, none of whom drink to excess. mind you, they're all tall and skinny (i am not!) so i definitely wound up with more than 1 reessive gene....

Soberpotamus

Hi Angela, welcome to SR I am sorry you are having to go through this! I hope you stick close to the forums and find a way out of this situation soon!

Sonrisa12

Irish Great Grandpa who was a cop in Northern Ireland - serious drinking problem. I think died from cirrhosis. Native American on the other side - Great Grandpa also had a problem. Funny - I have the gene for it, skipped my brother. He can take it or leave it. I wish I was like him

Victoria74

My dad is an alcoholic, today completely brain damages from the abuse. My grandmothers 2 brothers were alcoholics and I´m quite sure my sister has problems too. I think apart from the genes for me it was also that alcohol was always around when there was something to celebrate (rather often..). And my dad was never abusive, he was just fun an social when drunk for many years, only when I was an adult (and moved abroad) did it completely get out of hand. If I would have seen more of the negatives close by maybe I would have gotten scared? My mother doesn´t drink too much but cannot imagine a vacation/good dinner/party without some wine.

upandup

Don't know, never met my birth parents.

DrakeCKC

My dad was an alcoholic. I am so detached from my dad's family I have no idea if there are others. My sister and only sibling is not at all. My 25 year old daughter is well on her way, I used to get smashed with her and our drunk dials to each other were legendary. She finds my sobriety bewildering.

stevenw198

My granddads brother died from alcohol addiction he literally went crazy and ended up in a mental hospital. My Dad is an alcoholic and although he drinks to excess every night he is still in denial. Then there is me, I have only admitted it today, but I am an alcoholic. Day one.

RV GTO

Interesting thread. Mother was an alcoholic, both her parents (maternal grandparents) were not. Father was not an alcoholic, both his parents (paternal grandparents) were alcoholics and died young from complications.

Only child so no siblings to compare myself to but I am affected by alcoholism.

GracieLou

My maternal grandfather was an alcoholic
My maternal grandmother I never met. She died when my mother was 12 but she died of cirrhosis of the liver so I am going to take a wild guess and say she was an alcoholic.

My mother is not an alcoholic but she does have many of the same characteristics. They just point in directions other than alcohol.

My half brother was an alcoholic. He died in 1984.

I have two aunts from my mothers side. One is passed away and was not an alcoholic. The other drank quite heavy in her younger years but does not drink much now.

My paternal grandparents I never met and I know nothing about them.
My biological father I only met a handful of times and although he drank I did not know him long enough to say either way.

I have 6 half brothers and sisters from my fathers side. I don’t know much about them but I have heard some stories so I am going to say one or two of them may qualify.

At this point I think I am the only living alcoholic, that I know of for sure, in my family.

Lyoness

I'm adopted, too, and have never met any birthfamily so far because they're all dead sadly. I got my birthmother's death certificate and she died of viral hepatitis in 1977 so I'm going to guess that she was a needle addict just like me. Her brother died of suicide so there's depression there, too.

My adoptive father was alcoholic and abusive, adoptive mother the very definition of codependent, her whole life, and therefore ours, revolved around his alcoholism. My adoptive sister was hooked on pills for awhile don't know how she is now.

I also have a lot of the factors that greatly increase chances for addiction. So even though I don't know my bio family, with all that I do know and what I grew up with, well I became an addict too.

Iwanttobebetter

on my mom's side my grandfather was an alcoholic and so is an uncle. another uncle was a heroin addict. on my dad's side i think there were uncles who were into opium and alcohol.

PeacefulRain

My moms side of the family is full of them. The only memories I have of my grandmother when I was a kid are of her drunk. My mom rarely drinks, I've seen her drink a handful times in my life. I've never even seen anyone on my dads side of the family drink with the exception of my dad. He enjoyed a beer regularly but no where near a problem drinker. I wouldn't be surprised if its been over 20 years since my older sister had a drink. Now my baby sister well I don't know...I'm really not sure if she's a problem drinker but she does seem to drink very often. I told my mom I was destined to be a drinker 1/2 Irish and 1/2 Mexican.