Do you think alcoholism can be an inherited trait?

Bretrick

Bretrick

Well-known Member
Location
Perth Western Australia
Studies suggest children of alcoholics inherit a "Predisposition to Alcoholism"
Though this does not mean they will become alcoholics.
Social and environmental factors also play a part.
My Father was a life time alcoholic, though did my genetic make up predispose me to becoming the alcoholic I was?
In my mind, social and environmental factors played a major role in my alcoholism.
I drank from age 12 to escape the torment being inflicted on me.
 

Yes I definitely think there’s a genetic component. Others factors definitely contribute to it also. Some people just can’t stop after 1 drink and it’s not willpower or a moral failure. It also tends to run in families.
 

Yes you are predisposed to become an Alcoholic if your parents were. Both my parents were alcoholics which is why I don’t drink. I had a good friend who was an alcoholic. He asked me one night if I thought he was an alcoholic and I said yes. He sent me a dozen red roses the next day. He was a good friend and was contently gay.
 
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NO.

Although that is something some psychologists have been spouting for years it is just a cop-out from accepting personal responsibility, one's own blame. Rather a person becomes an alcoholic by their own repeated life choices well before that behavior rises to a level of addiction. Many psychologists on all matters especially addictions, tend to avert personal blame away from their patients and clients since those patients would rather not blame themselves.
 
Tricky one. My own thought is that it's not "inherited" per se, BUT when kids grow up in an alcoholic home and see it every single day, it becomes "normal behavior" in their mind and are probably a lot more likely to start drinking themselves. Adopting the behavior that they grew up with thinking was normal would then appear as if it had been genetic. Just my two 🪙🪙.
 
I think that there may be a predisposition towards alcoholism that is shaped and expressed by environmental factors, personality, and life circumstances. My mother was a borderline alcoholic who was given her first drink by my father, then she was off to the races. My father controlled his drinking, while mother did not. My mother tried hard to make a beer drinker out of me, but failed as I always hated the smell and taste of it. Repeated exposure and embarrassment at hearing my mother publicly slur her speech following bouts of drinking further distanced me from alcohol, although opportunity was abundant.., 🍺
 
Psychologists say yes, but alcoholism can skip a generation. John Bradshaw has written many books on this subject. I found them very interesting. There is one book titled, “Grandchildren of Alcoholics.” It brings real life to reality.
 
The primary question to this thread is how are managing your alcohol intake today? I don’t put much stock in why I am this way or what caused me to be this or that are speculations without answers. You know why you do the things you do better than anyone else. You like the way alcohol makes you feel or you like the taste. Let’s be real, you drink because you like it or it’s socially expected of you. Either way you have a choice that only you can make. Recovery from any addiction is hard to overcome because you must rewire your thinking to avoid alcohol and substances that previously brought you pleasure.
People, places and things-relapse.
 
David777 said:
NO.

Although that is something some psychologists have been spouting for years it is just a cop-out from accepting personal responsibility, one's own blame. Rather a person becomes an alcoholic by their own repeated life choices well before that behavior rises to a level of addiction. Many psychologists on all matters especially addictions, tend to avert personal blame away from their patients and clients since those patients would rather not blame themselves
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Hmmm, I sense a certain bias re psychologists. Blame is rarely an effective treatment, whereas learning to accept personal

responsibility is often one of the learned coping mechanisms on the path to healing. It is also important to

note that making appropriate choices relies on one’s capacity to do so. Often, people have experienced deeply scarring events, or deal with crippling mental illness. Alcoholism runs in my high achiever family. Given my history, the only reason

I did not become a drunk was due to the fact I missed that gene. I am unable to drink very much at all.I would have perished from alcohol poisoning if I had attempted to bury my anguish by

going that route. I do not follow that rat psychologist, BF Skinner, whose now largely discounted views caused so much unnecessary agony. We are

complex, emotional beings, not two dimensional, colour coded denizens of an outdated wave curve. Too many of my clients have been crippled by the blame game. I am not fond of the behaviouralist approach
 
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Scientists have found that there is a 50% chance of being predisposed to alcohol use disorder (AUD) if your family has a history of alcohol misuse. However, the specific causes are still unknown, and identifying the biological basis for this risk is a vital step in controlling alcoholism.

Alcohol tolerance means that equal amounts of alcohol lead to lesser effects over time, generating a need for higher quantities of alcohol to feel the same desired effects. While it may seem like there is a genetic predisposition for alcohol tolerance, tolerance is not inherited. Tolerance results from drinking substantial amounts of alcohol over long periods of time. However, alcohol intolerance may be genetic, which is different from inherited. As claimed by American Addiction.
 
There's no single alcoholism gene yet isolated, but there are personality types that are more susceptible to alcoholism and genetic mental disorders that predispose people to self medicate with alcohol.

As with most things, there's no polarized nature vs nurture, but a combination of the two. Nurture certainly comes into play with there being a higher familial rate of alcoholism and other addictions since addicted parents hardly ever provide an emotionally healthy home life for their children. @911 mentioned alcoholism skipping a generation. I'm interested in the book he referenced. From what I've read and observed through the years, a child of an alcoholic can choose a life of sobriety but not deal with the underlying patterns of family dysfunction which can set the next generation up for substance abuse.

@mrstime Were any of your grandparents alcoholics?
 
Mr. Ed said:
The primary question to this thread is how are managing your alcohol intake today? I don’t put much stock in why I am this way or what caused me to be this or that are speculations without answers. You know why you do the things you do better than anyone else. You like the way alcohol makes you feel or you like the taste. Let’s be real, you drink because you like it or it’s socially expected of you. Either way you have a choice that only you can make. Recovery from any addiction is hard to overcome because you must rewire your thinking to avoid alcohol and substances that previously brought you pleasure.
People, places and things-relapse.
Click to expand...
I have not had a drink since 2001.
Major lifestyle changes were made by me. Everything I had ever done revolved around booze.
I had to stay away from alcohol, including drinking buddies, never entering drinking establishments. Staying away from every place where alcohol was available. I done all this by myself, without any help.
My go to was to go out into the aussie bush and enjoy the serenity of nature.
Even today, my down time is spent in the bush.
I certainly do not miss alcohol and I know I will never imbibe of it ever again.
 

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