Reason / inheriting dependence

[JammyRedRoo2]

Would you say your alcoholism or alcohol dependence is in part inherited?

Are some people predisposed to rely on alcohol to numb their problems?

Thinking about this a bit lately.

I grew up with a very heavy drinking father. It put me off for life. I barely drink and almost never to excess (last time was a wedding in 2018). So, I haven't inherited that. But, I would say I have a problematic relationship with food, using it as a crutch and a reward or for commiseration. Im sure the two are related.

I think it really depends on the individual.

My husband & BIL were raised by the same parents, in the same house, in the same way. FIL has had a difficult relationship with alcohol forever really. BIL is an alcoholic, my husband is not. They both were raised the same way but BIL saw it & decided to follow, my husband saw it & decided he didn’t want that for his life or the life of his children- he broke the cycle.

I believe there is an "addiction gene" well it might not be a gene at all, it could possibly be a subconscious coping mechanism you've seen modelled by your parents so it's kind of normal behaviour to you. My outlet is smoking, my brother turned to alcohol at a fairly young age and drank his troubles away rather than facing them and dealing with them. Having seen the dark side of alcohol it doesn't appeal to me as a coping mechanism. My mother and her family were all quite dysfunctional, there were several reasons for that inc a shit father who effectively abandoned them, WW2, homelessness and having to start again from scratch but the 3 oldest were all quite messed up, the youngest is ok but she was much younger and missed the worst of it.

There is no addiction gene that has yet been found and I think more likely some mental health difficulty that runs through the family and self medicate with alcohol.