My family and alcoholism

[fuzzybuddy]

My granddad was literally the "town drunk". He was noted for never being sober. When I knew him, he never drank alcohol at all. Not even a sip at weddings. My grandparents had 8 kids. Two died when they were children. So there were 5 daughters and 1 son alive. The son, my uncle, was an alcoholic. On Dec. 6,1941, he was in the Army on Hawaii. He won all kinds of medals for bravery and the rank of sergeant. By Jan 1,1942, he was a PFC for being drunk on duty. All my aunts married alcoholics, except for my mom. One of my uncles almost beat his wife to death. All my uncles died of complications from alcoholism. My dad & mom were social drinkers and we rarely had alcohol in the house. I was a bar rat for a time, then stopped. My brother is an alcoholic. When my grandfather, was at his worst, was when his daughters were growing up. They saw the effects of alcohol, yet all my aunts married alcoholics?

 

[Falcon]

Just one relative, an uncle, a very successful businessman who married the beautiful mother of his two sons.

He was happy with a great sense of humor but always put vodka in his breakfast orange juice.

We could never understand why he did himself in by sitting in his garaged car with a jug of booze and the

garden hose connected to the exhaust pipe. What a waste !

 

[Debby]

I sounds like the men in your family, by blood or marriage, had a propensity for alcoholism but the women didn't, although they married what they were used to seeing didn't they? That's very interesting (although unfortunate of course)

My husbands family also dealt with that for most of his life, and he finally gave up drinking entirely about 30 years ago. I always warned our girls that they were at risk because of the familial connection. Even my dad was an alcoholic. It's a scourge in some families isn't it?

 

[Aunt Bea]

Most of my great uncles, uncles and my father drank heavily. I think that for them it had a lot to do with service in the war, the things they saw, and the realization that the dreams they had as young men were never going to materialize. I also think the booze helped to numb them from the hard physical labor that they all performed. In each case they were married to strong women that kept the families going. My generation did our share of drinking when we were young and then it just fell away with age. Now that the drinking age is 21 the younger kids in our family don't seem to have much interest in anything other than a beer or two every now and then. It takes millions and millions of funerals to change the behavior of society. We've seen it with alcohol, the introduction of seat belts, the huge reduction in smoking, etc...

 

[Don M.]

I've known several "heavy drinkers", over the years, and most of them are either Gone, or well on the way. This past weekend, one of the daughters called and said her Father-in-Law has been given less than 6 months to live...I never saw him over the years without a beer in his hand, and now his Liver is shot, and there is nothing to be done...and he is way too old for a transplant. Many doctors say that moderate alcohol consumption...a glass of wine with Supper...can be beneficial, but a constant habit of "imbibing" is a sure recipe for troubles.

 

[WhatInThe]

I've known several "heavy drinkers", over the years, and most of them are either Gone, or well on the way. This past weekend, one of the daughters called and said her Father-in-Law has been given less than 6 months to live...I never saw him over the years without a beer in his hand, and now his Liver is shot, and there is nothing to be done...and he is way too old for a transplant. Many doctors say that moderate alcohol consumption...a glass of wine with Supper...can be beneficial, but a constant habit of "imbibing" is a sure recipe for troubles.

The negative side effects of excessive drinking really start rolling in after a certain point. Sooner or later the body cannot counter the effects. I know of people having issues with diabetes, strokes, bloop pressure, liver issues along with others. Just the volume of time their drinking takes including seeking, drinking and/or recovering is a killer.

What surprised me with one of the negative side effects of heavy drinking is high blood pressure. One would think the alcohol would relax the body and lower bp but excessive drinking does not. Also going from a sedated alcohol induced state to ramped up state with caffeine and/or stimulants is just as bad. The back and fourth between those two states especially if artificially & rapidly induced can be detrimental.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

About my aunts & uncles. My uncles weren't hard drinkers, they were alcoholics. I don't think being naked, on your hands and knees, barking at the moon is "hard drinking". To be honest, the reason my mom didn't marry an alcoholic was that my dad wasn't one. I believe, if not for my dad, she would have married a very abusive alcoholic. She ran away to him several times. Why all my grandparents kids were or married alcoholics? My mom, the exception. For most of their childhood, my grandfather was a drunk, and they lived through it. My dad wasn't a drunk, but my brother is?
You can explain being an alcoholic as a genetic thing, but what do you call the urge to marry alcoholics?