Addiction - hereditary?

GlynD

scooby088 wrote: »

Could it be down to nurture rather than nature, if you see someone drinking everyday from a young age then surely it's a possibility that later in life they see it acceptable to drink to excess.

I think it's down to both. Some are predisposed to addiction through genetics and some acquire a habit.

System

My GP told me that addictions are very often down to a genetic disposition. Ive just got to figure out whether my boys 'addictions' stem from me or their Fathers.... Since they have two different Fathers it must come from me.:mad:

lillie_put

Both my parents were Alcoholics my mum was vicious an vile towards me but not towards my brothers
my dad was the loveliest man he was never cruel never hateful never hit me spoke to me not at me

both have passed away now
My brothers do drink but not like our parents 1 brother does say has to have drink be able to sleep but he does not drink during the day
other brother I would say from what I have seen drinks every night at home few bottles of wine but not during the day
they both work, eldest brother has the same sort of attitude as my mum
both were evil too me I was the youngest,
I am married 3 children I don't go to the pub last time was 3 yrs. ago new years eve I don't drink at home
I never treated my sons the way she treated me never beat them never treated them like shi..... I would not do that

so I don't no if it is Hereditary or how people choose to behave everyone has their own minds they can think for them selves
just my opinion
Lillie_put

skivenov

scooby088 wrote: »

Could it be down to nurture rather than nature, if you see someone drinking everyday from a young age then surely it's a possibility that later in life they see it acceptable to drink to excess.

When I was growing up, my dad hardly drank, and still doesn't. It's not that he's never had a problem with it, he just honestly doesn't feel the need for it, if he has a glass of fizz on Christmas day, it's been a heavy year for him. Mum very rarely drank, so there's no question of me having an upbringing that normalised alcohol.

She was one of three sisters, one smoked herself to death, the other drank herself to death, to the extent that their mother outlived them both. She was also a drinker.

I, personally, am highly aware that I have addictive tendancies. I have lost a job because I needed to drink at work to do it (there was never any question that I didn't do it well). There's no issue of choice involved as a few posters have said. If I've got 4 beers in, I have to drink 4, if I've got 24 in, I have to drink 24, even if I don't want.to.

So yes, I'd say genetics are a big influence.

peachyprice

scooby088 wrote: »

Could it be down to nurture rather than nature, if you see someone drinking everyday from a young age then surely it's a possibility that later in life they see it acceptable to drink to excess.

Definitely not in the case of my brother and uncle. We didn't mix with my father's family at all, we knew our uncle was a bit wild, but that's all, we didn't know the extent of his problem for many years until my dad admitted why he was worried for my brother.

GlynD

There are no real drinkers in my immediate or extended family. I did my share in the army, in fact it was suggested I apply for a place on the British Olympic Drinking Team. As I've grown older however I've lost the taste and toleration for alcohol and rarely touch it - thank God. Alcoholism is a terrible curse on a family.

j.e.j.

I think there is such a thing as an addictive personality and yes it can be inherited.

A neighbour's husband was (and probably still is!) a compulsive gambler and an alcoholic. He was not around for much of the childrens' upbringing, but her son (now adult) is showing definite traits of having an addictive personality. Thankfully not for gambling or booze, but it's worrying all the same.

Could be coincidence, I suppose, but I doubt it.

dandelionclock30

Could be learned behaviour, I think.

By saying its heredity is taking away a lot of the responsibility of the person. I cant help it I was born this way etc.
When in reality people can do something about their dependancy issues if they want to.

abailey54

Hi, Not sure about the nature/nuture of addiction, but remember reading some papers about the psychological methods used in designing gambling tools (specifically about the design of fruit machines, but I'm sure these methods are not exclusive to these)

They are very cleverly designed and are all geared towards giving gamblers 'near misses' and making them feel uninhibited with various sounds and colours etc. The people who run businesses earning money from gamblers want them to become 'addicted', that's how they make their millions after all.

This considered, I think we are all vulnerable to become addicted to gambling.

My own personal opinion is that experiences drive alcohol addiction (I do not know about this so is just my opinion). The people I know who have died from alcohol related deaths have drunk to escape very painful memories, and have also learned this as a 'coping mechanism' from their own parents - Of course genetics make a difference but I think environment can override this

Again, just my opinion, and unless you can find a study that looks at adopted children of birth parents who are alcohol addicted who subsequently become addicted to alcohol, I don't see how you can think there's evidence for a genetic link

skivenov

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Could be learned behaviour, I think.

By saying its heredity is taking away a lot of the responsibility of the person. I cant help it I was born this way etc.
When in reality people can do something about their dependancy issues if they want to.

Unfortunately that's a very simplistic view. Some can, some can't, and I count myself very lucky that most of the time I can.

Wanting to do something about it is pretty early in most accepted recovery processes, the difficult thing is being able to.

Paraphrasing a lot of different Psychologists and their theories:

Addiction is quite often a symptom of an underlying mental illness, which quite often can show a genetic path (for example, there's quite a lot of evidence that Bipolar disorder has a genetic link). By definition, mental illness can prevent the suffer from making a rational decision, or from having the strength to make that choice into an action.

It tends to be an issue of compulsion rather than decision. Which isn't an easy thing to understand if you've not been through it, and can be even harder to understand if you aren't going through it.

Imagine you're sitting in an quiet place trying to think about something, and there's a tap dripping in the background. If you leave it long enough, you will hit the point where you don't just want to turn it off, but you will feel compelled to turn it off to restore the peace in your soul. That's what compulsion is, but with an addict, that compulsion is to feed the addiction.

You also have to bear in mind that a large part of addiction, once an addiction is active, is about physiological dependency, to the extent that the sufferers body has become accustomed to the presence of alcohol, nicotine, or other narcotics, and needs these to function "normally". It's very common for alcoholics who haven't had their first drink of the day, or their normal amount the night before, to be physically ill due to the lack of alcohol in their body. It's quiet often seen, for example, if an alcoholic is arrested and kept in for the night, thereby preventing them from drinking for a number of hours.