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I have no doubt that I could be an alcoholic if I drank. That doesn't mean I've never drank. I did when I was younger in my late teens and early twenties socially. I was acutely aware of the risks and made sure I didn't make a habit of it.
There are times when I think, "I could sure use a drink." I know those times are the worse times to do it so I never do. I've spent the past the past three decades pretty much only having a few drinks per year, sometimes not having a drink for years in between. It has worked for me.
I know I'm at risk because I'm a very addictive personality and alcoholism runs in my family. I'm just glad I was aware of my risk at a young age.
I do not think that at any point in the future I will become an alcoholic from having one drink. I believe my body would need to develop a tolerance and dependence on it over a period of time. That period of time may be a short period of time, but I don't think it would happen having one drink twice a year.
It's both. There's a gene that makes you predisposed and there are other genes that make you more susceptible. Check out the link I posted, it does a better job of explaining it.
So does this mean an alcoholic was an alcoholic as a small child since his genes were the same?
Yes. Something within an alcoholic's brain makes them crave it. It's similar to any addiction...
I can attest to this. I'm not an alcoholic, but I have had cravings for alcohol that came out of the blue for no reason whatsoever. I'd be an alcoholic is I caved on those cravings. I have no doubt about that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violett
There's a gene for alcoholism and genes that make you more susceptible to becoming an alcoholic. However, those genes don't get "turned on" until the alcoholic takes their first drink. So, you could go your whole life carrying the genes but never turning into an alcoholic as long as you never drink.
Maybe for some people it's just a first drink, but I believe it takes more than one drink for most alcoholics.
I could be an alcoholic if I drank.
I know I'm at risk because I'm a very addictive personality and alcoholism runs in my family.
I have had cravings for alcohol.
I'd be an alcoholic is I caved on those cravings. I have no doubt about that.
Does that mean someone who craves alcohol (like an alcoholic) but has enough will power to not drink is not an alcoholic?
Does that mean someone who craves alcohol (like an alcoholic) but has enough will power to not drink is not an alcoholic?
It means he is a "Hard Drinker" who may have drank like
an alcoholic for a period of time but was able to successfully use
will power to stop drinking.
But they're still alcoholics for the rest of their lives.
So circling back to the original question of this thread, wouldn't they have been alcoholics at birth? Meaning, if an alcoholic is a person who can't stop drinking then aren't they an alcoholic if they aren't drinking and they are an alcoholic if they never had a drink?
It means he is a "Hard Drinker" who may have drank like
an alcoholic for a period of time but was able to successfully use
will power to stop drinking.
But he's not an alcoholic? He's just a hard drinker?
I am a recovered alcoholic but my will power was useless in overcoming my illness.
Do you still have this illness?
If you haven't had a drink in ten years, do you still have this illness?
Did you have this illness when you were born?
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