Mental Health and Taboo topics in OUR community

[ClassyLady]

Originally posted by FeeFee
I've read somewhere that there may be a genetic link to alcoholism or the propensity for drinking. I hope that it is not true.

I do believe that there is a genetic link to alcoholism. One of my teachers in high school told me that those who carry this certain gene will actually become addicted to alcohol. Others will just be heavy drinkers. I don't know about the science behind it (hopefully AKA Monet will pop in and school us), but I do know that my maternal grandfather's family were all alcoholics.

My grandfather was an alcoholic and a very violent drunk. He used to abuse my grandmother when he had been drinking. She ended up leaving him once my mother and aunt went off to college. I have so much respect for my grandmother to be able to separate from her husband at a time when it was still considered taboo, early 1960s.

My grandfather never sought help and drank until he died. I never really knew him but I can see the effect that his drinking had on my mother and aunt. My mother almost never drinks. She may have a glass of wine at a really special dinner, but she steers away from liquor. She warned my sisters and me to watch out once we left for college because, in her words, "we got the gene."

My aunt on the other hand was an alcoholic and drug user all of her life. She passed away last year. She never sought help and it completely ruined her life. She had gone to college and married a successful banker. But, her addiction took all of that away. She hadn't had a steady job since the 1970s, her husband left her, and all three of her children were taken away. My oldest cousin was raised by my grandmother and the twins were taken by social services at such a young age that they don't even consider us family.

Although I spent a lot of time with my aunt as a child, I was fortunate to have a stable home life where my parents let me know that what she was doing was not right. I can really see the effect that my aunt's addiction has had on my cousin. My mother, father, and grandmother tried as much as possible to provide her with a stable and loving home life, but as she got older, I think that she began to resent them for their efforts. To this day, I really think that she feels like she isn't worthy of pure love.