Topic: Do You Believe Addiction Is Contagious?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,238
Topic: Do You Believe Addiction Is Contagious?
Hi, Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic living
my life in recovery incorporating many
useful, healthy, helpful tools and knowledge
of this disease of addiction in all areas of my
life for some many one days at a time now.
There are a many folks out there in the
world that are struggling with addiction
and have no idea where it comes from,
how and why it affects some of us and
not all.
Many in recovery have learned about
addiction and its affects on themselves
and those around them, but for the new
comer wanting more information on
where addiction comes from , then maybe
some of our SR folks can share their thoughts
to help them better understand it keeping
it as simple and easy to comprehend.
I mean, like, we sure must know that
addiction is not contagious like catching
the flu or you cant get it by rubbing elbows
or sneezing or coughing on someone else.
Right?
I know that that is not true for sure.
But so many younger folks don't understand
how they can go out one night with friends
and some end up so sick with a hangover
and be ready to go back out the next night.
Then the rest are not even affected by alcohol.
They can take or leave and move on
with their lives where drinking or drugs
is not top priority in their lives.
Where the addict, the one who craves
it, wants it, no matter how much it kicks
their butts or brings their health down
in mind, body and soul.
Where do you think addiction comes from
and how do you get it in your own opinion?
my life in recovery incorporating many
useful, healthy, helpful tools and knowledge
of this disease of addiction in all areas of my
life for some many one days at a time now.
There are a many folks out there in the
world that are struggling with addiction
and have no idea where it comes from,
how and why it affects some of us and
not all.
Many in recovery have learned about
addiction and its affects on themselves
and those around them, but for the new
comer wanting more information on
where addiction comes from , then maybe
some of our SR folks can share their thoughts
to help them better understand it keeping
it as simple and easy to comprehend.
I mean, like, we sure must know that
addiction is not contagious like catching
the flu or you cant get it by rubbing elbows
or sneezing or coughing on someone else.
Right?
I know that that is not true for sure.
But so many younger folks don't understand
how they can go out one night with friends
and some end up so sick with a hangover
and be ready to go back out the next night.
Then the rest are not even affected by alcohol.
They can take or leave and move on
with their lives where drinking or drugs
is not top priority in their lives.
Where the addict, the one who craves
it, wants it, no matter how much it kicks
their butts or brings their health down
in mind, body and soul.
Where do you think addiction comes from
and how do you get it in your own opinion?
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 732
I just don't know. I come from a family of non drinkers but had a horrible mother. All I can remember is feeling the happiness and confidence drink gave me and that was it I was hooked. I don't know of any extended family with a problem either.
Out of a group of about six of us at school, it's me and another girl that have a problem with alcohol, the others are fine, and we all used to get drunk together at weekends.
Thinking back I remember having an argument with my then boyfriend, and I felt such dreadful anguish I couldn't bear it. I pinched a sedative type pill from someone at work and took it, and couldn't believe how my feelings calmed down. My boyfriends was going to dump me but seeing me calm he didn't. I think from then on I kept a lid on my emotions with drugs and alcohol.
Out of a group of about six of us at school, it's me and another girl that have a problem with alcohol, the others are fine, and we all used to get drunk together at weekends.
Thinking back I remember having an argument with my then boyfriend, and I felt such dreadful anguish I couldn't bear it. I pinched a sedative type pill from someone at work and took it, and couldn't believe how my feelings calmed down. My boyfriends was going to dump me but seeing me calm he didn't. I think from then on I kept a lid on my emotions with drugs and alcohol.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Pacific Coast
Posts: 785
I have a theory, but it might be hard for people used to binary thinking (yes/no, either/or) to grasp.
There’s a Nature component, and there’s a Nurture component, and they both exist in degrees on a spectrum rather than as yes/no values.
The Nature component is an inherited trait, kind of like a talent for art or math. On a scale of 1 to 10, a “1” would be someone who has no addictive tendencies and can drink or use continually for years and still be able to take it or leave it; a “10” would be someone who is absolutely hooked from the first drink or use. It doesn’t take much reading around SR to see plenty of examples of the latter.
The Nurture component relates to upbringing and environment and learned behavior. On a scale of 1 to 10, a “1” might be someone who is never exposed to alcohol or drugs and has a solid, stable upbringing with no undue trauma; a “10” would be someone exposed to alcohol or drug abuse from the earliest years, who begins drinking or using at an early age, and who grows up in a traumatic, unstable environment.
If your combined scores for Nature and Nurture come out to more than, say, 12, then you have a good chance of becoming an addict.
Me personally? I feel like my combined score is just barely a “12” or so, which explains why I was able to start off as a normal social drinker and became an alcoholic drinker only gradually in my 40s. Once the condition took hold, though, I was just as seriously addicted as any low-bottom drunk.
Obviously this is huge oversimplification compared to the complex reality of addiction, and there are many other factors which can influence the outcome, but for me it might represent a basic start to explaining why some people become addicts while others don’t.
Oh, and no, I don't think it's "contagious" exactly, although hanging around with people who drink or use might factor into the "Nurture" part of the equation.
There’s a Nature component, and there’s a Nurture component, and they both exist in degrees on a spectrum rather than as yes/no values.
The Nature component is an inherited trait, kind of like a talent for art or math. On a scale of 1 to 10, a “1” would be someone who has no addictive tendencies and can drink or use continually for years and still be able to take it or leave it; a “10” would be someone who is absolutely hooked from the first drink or use. It doesn’t take much reading around SR to see plenty of examples of the latter.
The Nurture component relates to upbringing and environment and learned behavior. On a scale of 1 to 10, a “1” might be someone who is never exposed to alcohol or drugs and has a solid, stable upbringing with no undue trauma; a “10” would be someone exposed to alcohol or drug abuse from the earliest years, who begins drinking or using at an early age, and who grows up in a traumatic, unstable environment.
If your combined scores for Nature and Nurture come out to more than, say, 12, then you have a good chance of becoming an addict.
Me personally? I feel like my combined score is just barely a “12” or so, which explains why I was able to start off as a normal social drinker and became an alcoholic drinker only gradually in my 40s. Once the condition took hold, though, I was just as seriously addicted as any low-bottom drunk.
Obviously this is huge oversimplification compared to the complex reality of addiction, and there are many other factors which can influence the outcome, but for me it might represent a basic start to explaining why some people become addicts while others don’t.
Oh, and no, I don't think it's "contagious" exactly, although hanging around with people who drink or use might factor into the "Nurture" part of the equation.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,238
I believe each one of us are made up
differently inside. Different components.
Different DNA's. But believe many of us
have that one singular component, part
in common that when alcohol or drugs
affects it different than say someone who
doesn't have that component in their system.
Something like that.
differently inside. Different components.
Different DNA's. But believe many of us
have that one singular component, part
in common that when alcohol or drugs
affects it different than say someone who
doesn't have that component in their system.
Something like that.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
I'm not sure that it really matters to me. I am an alcoholic no matter how I became that way.
I used do spend inordinate amounts of time on the "why" question, and I think for me it was my addiction seeking a SOLUTION to my alcoholism so I could drink again . Normal logic tells you that if you can find the problem, you can fix it - right? Unfortunately addiction isn't logical.
I used do spend inordinate amounts of time on the "why" question, and I think for me it was my addiction seeking a SOLUTION to my alcoholism so I could drink again . Normal logic tells you that if you can find the problem, you can fix it - right? Unfortunately addiction isn't logical.
A Day at a Time
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Grand Rapids MI
Posts: 6,435
Interesting history in my case. My parents both died of alcohol related health problems, my brother is an alcoholic, my grandmother was an alcoholic as was my grandfather.
Now comes the interesting part. My parents did not drink alcoholicly until i was an adult. My grandmother quite drinking on her own, I was not around my grandfather enough to be affected by his drinking.
So in my case there were almost no environmental factors that would lead to alcoholism but both my brother and I are alcoholics.
The only conclusion I can come up with is that I was genetically predisposed to alcoholism
Now comes the interesting part. My parents did not drink alcoholicly until i was an adult. My grandmother quite drinking on her own, I was not around my grandfather enough to be affected by his drinking.
So in my case there were almost no environmental factors that would lead to alcoholism but both my brother and I are alcoholics.
The only conclusion I can come up with is that I was genetically predisposed to alcoholism
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
i believe,for me, theres some hereditary stuff happening. i see(now that im clean and sober) addictive tendancies in family members- not necessarily drugs or alcohol though, and in my brothers and sisters of my mom and dad and their kids- my 1st cousins.
i also see adhd and ocd in my brothers and sister,which are also things i have(but dont struggle with as much with lots of work).
i also see adhd and ocd in my brothers and sister,which are also things i have(but dont struggle with as much with lots of work).
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,777
I don't know where mine came from. I am the first problem drinker on either side of the family. Sister drinks, but not to excess. Dad likes his wine in the evening but only two glasses. Mom hardly ever drank.
I have the dubious distinction of being the first alcoholic in a family of non alcoholics.
There was no drinking in my house when I was growing up, wasn't exposed to it until high school, and even then, I didn't drink.
I have the dubious distinction of being the first alcoholic in a family of non alcoholics.
There was no drinking in my house when I was growing up, wasn't exposed to it until high school, and even then, I didn't drink.
A Day at a Time
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Grand Rapids MI
Posts: 6,435
Originally Posted by least 
I don't know where mine came from. I am the first problem drinker on either side of the family. Sister drinks, but not to excess. Dad likes his wine in the evening but only two glasses. Mom hardly ever drank.
I have the dubious distinction of being the first alcoholic in a family of non alcoholics.
There was no drinking in my house when I was growing up, wasn't exposed to it until high school, and even then, I didn't drink.
I have the dubious distinction of being the first alcoholic in a family of non alcoholics.
There was no drinking in my house when I was growing up, wasn't exposed to it until high school, and even then, I didn't drink.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 732
With many many medial diseases, the gene can be carried and it takes an environmental trigger to set it off (I only heard this on the radio the other day). In fact a person with the gene, for example diabetes, if they are born in a country with a very low incidence of diabetes the gene is unlikely to be triggered.
But if the same person were to move to a place with a statistically high number of diabetics, they are far more likely to get it.
Maybe we should all have emigrated a long time ago!
But if the same person were to move to a place with a statistically high number of diabetics, they are far more likely to get it.
Maybe we should all have emigrated a long time ago!
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
A complex of biological (genetic and other kind), environmental, psychosocial and spiritual factors but definitely not the same complex for all or even most of us. There are similarities between individuals in terms of background and development of addiction, why we can often relate so well to each-other. I am sometimes fascinated when I get into in-depth discussions with some addicts, to find how much similarities we have in personality and history. But I think it's a bit like cancer: there isn't two identical case and there is no such two identical solution. Well, I would say more complex than most cancers probably.
Whether it is contagious -- well not in a sense like the flu is. But there are heritable factors and people do influence each-other both in bad ways (eg. drinking/drugging buddies or lots of drinking/drugging in families) and good ways (eg. recovery communities like SR).
Whether it is contagious -- well not in a sense like the flu is. But there are heritable factors and people do influence each-other both in bad ways (eg. drinking/drugging buddies or lots of drinking/drugging in families) and good ways (eg. recovery communities like SR).
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