to drink alcohol when I have FIVE alcoholic siblings?

[TheSnowBear]

I'm one of six. ALL my siblings have had serious problems with alcohol at one point or another. Four continue to attend AA meetings. The other is now abstinent.
We're from a lovely, supportive family, with highly functioning parents, so I can only assume rogue genes.
I think my relationship with alcohol is OK. I'm not a heavy drinker, although I have a glass or two of wine more nights than not. Am I being foolish to even touch the stuff??

I have a father who has been an alcoholic all his life, and a sister who was recently 'diagnosed' an alcoholic (along with other mental health problems). I have always drunk a lot, and taken recreational drugs. I never felt like I was an alcoholic, though I did drink a lot -- it was as much as my friends.

When we decided to conceive children, I really cut down (it took us a long time). And I stopped drinking after having children. For the past 8 years I haven't really drunk save for one or two glasses of wine at the rare social event.

I quite like wine, so I recently started up and would have the equivilant of a glass or two three nights a week.

I think it can be done. Never touched recreational drugs either since being married, absolutely no inclination. It suited my life at the time, but not now....

My grandfather was an alcoholic, my dad is not. My dad likes a drink but is very rarely drunk. He denies it but I think his drinking is a massive control issue - proving that he can manage it. He is a very odd man my dad, quite obsessive and undemonstrative. He has never, ever told me he loves me although I am sure he does. He is absolutely terrified of any sort of fuss/scene/embarrassing situation - I'm sure because of what he went through with his dad.
My brother has had a few problems with booze (not an alcoholic but an Idiot when drinking) and saw his friend die in his twenties after a booze fuelled fight. He is tee total now. I used to drink in my twenties although I never really liked alcohol. I liked being drunk.
Then I had kids and I grew up. I didn't need to be drunk to have fun and hangovers were brutal. So I stopped. I am in the tiny minority of friends who don't drink. I guess to me it's not worth it, I look at my brittle dad and the damage booze did to him and think no.
I have friends who drink too much, friends who just have the odd glass. I think a couple of glasses every night is starting to be too much personally. With your family history I wouldn't touch the stuff. I bet your siblings wish they had had the chance to make that decision before they were addicted.

Agree with antimatter... If you think a glass of wine is about a unit, you're likely to be drinking more units than you realise. I tend to go for light French white wines, ~11%, so a bottle is 8.25 units. I also drink out of vintage wine glasses, about 120 ml... More similar in size to modern sherry glasses than modern wine glasses. Even that's about 1.25 units a glass.

But i think if you have to ask, you should err on the side of caution. Like more nights off it than on. Like taking a few months off, and exploring healthier ways to manage your mood. Booze is a very short-termist solution to relaxation, as it tends to rebound with interest the next day (you don't have to have a hangover to be suffering the depressive effects).

I hope this doesn't sound too sanctimonious. I've got family history of alcohol problems too, and I do drink... About once a week, typically, and sometimes I get hammered. If having rules is a sign of a problem, then i have a problem, but i think they've kept me safe so far: not if I have to work, or drive the next day; not 3-days in a row; only when my mood is good from the start; not when I'm on medication; and never, never, never with a hangover. There are times when I've broken one rule or another... I don't think it makes me an instant alcoholic, but it does warn me to take stock and take a bit of care of myself.

I think you should decide to have an alcohol free week.How easily you cope with that (or if you can even do it!) will answer your question