My identical twin brother hadnt a drink problem like me ,it was escape for me to face life and all its stresses , ive managed not to lift a drink for almost 35 years with a program and support but if i did lift a drink then i know it will set up a compulsion and my Alcoholic brain would be in control again so i dont lift the first drink , i dont know if i was born one all i know is im one ,keep on trucking
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@Donnie_Spiering so you donāt think that there is any genetic or predisposition that might have a small influence on who ends up with this baffling issue?
I relate with you. I started drinking when I was 15 and very quickly became all I cared about was partying. Always to worried what ppl thought of me, always wanted to be the class clown. Never wanted to learn anything in school. Literally I didnāt learn, I dropped out of school to party, party party party jump from Job to job. Didnāt learn anything about life, education or myself. Sometimes I feel very dumb, and think it results in alot of my awkwardness with ppl because I never know anything. About politics, sports, even sober for that whole year I was still very awkward, so I usually just stuck to myself which helped me learn alot about myself
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Well Iām not sure about a genetic predisposition, but yes both of my parents were alcoholics. I think the biggest difference that made for me was that excessive alcohol use was a ānormā in my home growing up. Starting around 16 I was drinking in my home and with my parents even. So I guess the environment feels like it had a huge impact on my inability to recognize the issue in my behavior. Also, between growing up that way then joining the Army early on, I was surrounded by people that drank heavily constantly and like I said ā¦excessive drinking was ok, accepted, and in many cases glorified.
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Iām impressed too. Thereās a lot of insight here.
You ask really interesting questions Hollz. You have an observant mind. Add that to the list of qualities you pass to your daughter. Iām sure sheāll be exactly like all your good qualities 
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My drinking started way too young and honestly it felt at first like an expectation. It was largely environmental. My dad and his dad always boasted about how āweāre german, and germans drinkā and would make jokes to people claiming our family name translates to āguzzle.ā My grandpa had me making gin and tonics for him when I was 8 and encouraged me to drink a bit of each one so I would know how he likes it to make them better. My momās side is dominican and there was the expectation of late night parties with tequila shots. I remember at 10 sitting on top of a bunk bed with my cousins of the same age a bottle of tequila between the three of us.
I lived for a long time where being an alcoholic felt like a badge of honor and I handled large quantities of liquor with ease so no one even realized how much I was drinking. It eventually became a coping mechanism when I turned 18 and left for college and it spiraled out of control after that dealing with trauma.
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Well i think we learn from others like parents and friends parents or our environment. that makes it look normal and we just fall in like pawns. I think its more learned behavior to cope. U dont wanna feel or dont wanna give a fuck ā¦we use and our wish is granted for a limited time. Like a genie in a bottle,pipe,or needleā¦ we end up a product of our environment and that same thing is what brings sobriety changing our lives and environment. When wd gets in the mix of habitual use ur just a slave to it then and dependent.
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Hereās another thread with some great responses.
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I have several addicted relatives and bi-polar in the family. I was a non-drinker until I was 35 because of that. Then I drank socially. Then more and more to numb emotional pain. Now on I am over a year sober. Itās hard but therapy has helped me identify my emotional triggers for drinking. Iām not running anymore. So I think we can we can have a genetic propensity for addiction but donāt have to be trapped by it. Just my experience.
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Each side of my family has their fair share of alcoholicās and drug userās. So in a way, it was bound to happen to me. 95% of it was totally on me though. I started drinking young as well. Around 15/16-years-old.
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I think I was genetically predisposed through autism. A big part of my autism results in obsession. I must finish what I start. When I start building a Lego set, I have to finish, doesnāt matter if it takes 20 hours. Same with reading a book.
However that Iām genetically predisposed doesnāt mean Iām born an addict. Many people are genetically predisposed with cancer. Not all of them get it. Itās triggered somehow, I think. I donāt have a lot of knowledge of cancer.
Same way, my addiction was triggered through mental, emotional and physical abuse from my dad. I have been bullied for a long time and always by different people. As an emotionally diverse person I was unable to cope properly, which triggered the addiction.
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Alcoholism is in my mother and fatherās side but they werenāt. Brothers and sisters not alcoholic. I was always an odd child though. Sensitive stubborn often paranoid that I wasnāt like my cousinās. Usually panicky in social situations but ok 1 to 1. Smart at books but lazy as fuck.
Fairly strick upbringing so always felt pressure to be a good boyā¦
When drink came on the scene all my pent up inhibitions were lifted from me and I really felt brilliantā¦ this is what itās like to be confident an fun.
I think it was in me the whole time, and donāt know if my upbringing played any part in it developing.
One thing Iām sure of is that itās part of me now and always will be.
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Thanks for posting that video. It really helped me just now to make sense of my relapses. To understand why my will power sometimes fails me.
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I came from a house where alcohol and abuse was the norm and promised myself I would never drink when I was a kid bc I saw the damage it can do BUT turned out that shit was fun and it didnāt have to end up hurting people everytime I drank so why not enjoy it. 30 plus years of drink and drugs and never had a problem until the day I wanted to stop, then I looked back and saw for the first time the trail of destruction in other peopleās lives I had left. Personally I think weāre just built different.
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Iām convinced I was always destined to have a bad relationship with alcohol. Alcoholism is on both sides of my family. My Grand Father on my dads side was a chronic alcoholic, my dad is, and my grandmother on my mumās side died from alcoholism. Both my brother and I now seem to be. The one difference though, Iām working on changing that for me and hopefully for my children! 
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My parents were alcoholics to the point of sloppy. I always hated it . I drank young and hated it. Once i started getting into harder drugs and pills . I never hardly would drink after that. So my doc kinda came from the environment i was in not that i copied my parents addiction. Things like Alzheimerās, cancer, or mental illness can be hereditary. So if its hereditary thats debatable since mental illness kinda leads to that behavior. Is it a disease? No most things other then alcohol can be cured will no drugs just will power to do it ā¦
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You do realise that mental health, alcoholism, drug addiction has all been genetically linked. So no itās not about people not talking responsibility, itās about discussing addiction in a bigger picture.
Iām new to sobriety and TS and you donāt know my story or me. Iām more then accountable and I chose to stay sober. I asked a questionā¦ if you have a issue with my question you can very easily skip to the next thread ā¦ thanks
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