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Post Info TOPIC: Is Alcoholism The Result Of Nature Or Nurture?
Larry_H


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Is Alcoholism The Result Of Nature Or Nurture?
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Disclaimer:  This is not my writing but it is interesting and as an Alcoholic I can identify with it.

Larry,
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Is Alcoholism The Result Of Nature Or Nurture?

 The debate as to whether alcoholism is a product of nature (genetic) or nurture (life experiences and upbringing) or a blend of the two, shows no signs of abating any time soon.  However, amongst virtually all professionals in the addictions field, you'll find agreement that there is at the very least, a strong genetic component to addiction in general.  Some people just seem to be more predisposed or vulnerable to addiction.  We have identified certain genes and markers for various addictions, and we know that this genetic factor helps the substance or addiction "vehicle" literally hijack the brain.  Owing to modern technology, addiction can now be actually "seen" on brain scans.

 We feel that the nature or nurture question about addiction doesn't really have to be an "either/or" question, because we look at the nature/nurture question like this:  Your genes give you the "gun," but your environment, and how well you cope with your environment, dictate whether or not the trigger gets pulled.  So if you inherited the genetic "gun" for addiction, and you respond poorly to your environment with poor or substandard coping and problem-solving skills, you would obviously be at risk for solving your problem by "medicating" them away.  In effect, the "trigger" gets pulled.

 That's why in recovery, we say that no matter what "thing" you're addicted to, the "thing" is not the problem, it's the symptom of the problem.  The real problem is "how you solve your problems."   And how you solve your problems is by avoiding them, softening them, or making them go away temporarily with your "medication" of choice.  The commonality among an alcoholic, a cocaine addict, a compulsive gambler and someone internet chatting for twenty hours a day is that they're all avoid the ugliness of their perception of life by "medicating."

 And ultimately, every time they "medicate," their brain is responding by the release of chemicals, not least among them, dopamine and seratonin.  The brain becomes adapted to this, and ultimately, it's the only thing it's concerned with.  The modern, or thinking part of the brain that normally says "No," "think about this for a minute," what are the consequences?" becomes compromised, and allows the ancient, impulsive "Go" part of the brain to take over.

 The bottom-line?  When you are dealing with an alcoholic or addict you are dealing with someone suffering from a compromised brain.  Once they reach that stage, the normal rules of behavior, conduct and logic go out the window.  Do not expect an alcoholic or drug addict to think logically or rationally about what they are doing to themselves and those around them. 

 



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Jerry F


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Ahhh Larry the old discussion comes again.  For me from my college studies on the subject
and then from a geneology of my family and then medical reviews genetics explain
it all.  My first physical introduction to alcohol by my Grand-mother with my Mom
trying her best to stop it from happening I had my own Bimini Island A-Bomb test
with all of the sparklers and flashing colors and ecstacy I could ever imagine.  I
thought Walt Disney had entered my mind and colored the empty spaces and I just
loved it...after that I came to believe that God lived inside of a bottle of Portugese
Red.  My whole family was alcohol affected but my Mom kept me away from them
all and still.....   Another thought I arrived at in my studies was that since the
inception of distilled alcohol several thousands of years before the life of Christ we
must be an altered species due to the generational use and abuse.   Just gotta be
considering how it continued to alter me.  It is arrested today and I am not cured.

Great thread.   Mahalo.

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MLB


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I can only speak from my experience.

I was adopted at 2 monthes old by an older couple. I was raised poor but in a very safe loving home. Neither parent drank, and drinking wasnt allowed in the house. I was raised under the warning of he dangers of alcohol (see drunk uncles).

I turned 14, tried a beer,and I was off and running....

10 years later my sister hired a P.I to find my biological father...guess what...he's a drunk, and his father was a drunk...beyond the drinking we were so alike, and I'd never laid an eye on this man.

It doesnt matter at this point, but my opnion is nature kicks nurtures butt.

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jonijoni1


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Jerry F wrote:
Another thought I arrived at in my studies was that since the
inception of distilled alcohol several thousands of years before the life of Christ we
must be an altered species due to the generational use and abuse.   Just gotta be
considering how it continued to alter me. 

 Jerry, there exists a type of monkey that eats the overripe fruit of a particular tree, and when that fruit overripens, it contains alcohol. These monkeys imbibe and become drunk, fallingout of trees and acting foolishly, just like humans.

The drunken monkey hypothesis: the study of fruit-eating animals could lead to an evolutionary understanding of human alcohol abuse

What can a tipsy howler monkey tell science about humanity's fondness for--and problems with--alcohol? Possibly quite a lot. And that would be a good thing, considering how widespread our problems with alcohol are. In the United States alone, 14 million people are alcoholics, and several millions more are at risk. Although patterns vary from culture to culture, alcoholism is common across the globe, particularly among indigenous groups undergoing modernization, and it comes with tragic consequences: Even in the United States, abuse of alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death.

Studying the evolutionary background of human behaviors that lead to widespread disorders has helped shed light on how those disorders emerged and became established. Similarly, placing alcoholism in an evolutionary framework might reveal how our forebears became attracted--and addicted--to alcohol. That's where the tipsy howler monkey comes into the picture. In 2004, one of us (Stephens) observed him feasting on the bright orange fruits of the Astrocaryum palm, in the tropical forest of Panama's Barro Colorado Island. Climbing onto the branches of a neighboring tree to reach the untouched clusters, the forager first sniffed the fruit, then frantically began to eat it, sometimes dropping partly eaten fruits onto the forest floor. Risking a thirty-foot fall and serious injury from the enormous spines of the palm tree, the monkey seemed as fearless as a drunken teenager.

Our assays of the fruit he dropped suggested why: He may, in fact, have been drunk. Our calculations showed that the reckless forager had consumed the monkey equivalent of ten "standard drinks" during his twenty-minute gorging session. This measurement was the first quantitative estimate of the amount of alcohol ingested by a wild primate ever made. It also fitted nicely with the "drunken monkey" hypothesis, developed earlier by one of us (Dudley).

More at....... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_10_113/ai_n8640726/



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Just Toni


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Great Post Larry,

Think for the most part this is a pretty subjective subject, well only as I read it....

Just for today I am very strongly in favor of what MLB wrote:

"It doesnt matter at this point, but my opnion is nature kicks nurtures butt"

I wrote a paper on the subject of The History of Alcoholism at UC Berkeley, received an A-, so it must have had some merit,  some years ago, still have that paper and will try to find it, for this Post.

But I do recall from studying all the works of the scholars over the years,on the History of the Disease of Alcoholism,  that it pointed almost exclusively to only the genetic links.

And when I say I find this pretty subjective, it is because I personally had a freaky, abusive childhood, ending with my own need for Hynotherapy for PTSD..that took over 7 years to complete.

So I do believe there are exceptions to the above conclusion, as in so many of us that had childhoods tha read like a novel of surviving a younger life that was akin to Straight out of Hell,
I believe for all of us that can relate, we become sort of Sitting Ducks for anything that will help us forget that pain, and alcohol sure did that.....I believe that is when some of us have a Duel Diagnosis when we attempt to get sober, and because the underlying problem is still buried deep in our subconsious mind, lend itself to more of a chronic relapse mode, until someone shines a light on the fact that we have a duel dianosis...and then the combination of both treatments begin, and we can finally stay Sober.

So with all those words, what I am trying or attempting to say, is that obviously some cannot look at their own histories, and come away with saying, oh yes all of it is genetic, when through and only With the Grace of God, can I say for myself, it really does not matter.

Being sober, on a one day at a time basis, living Sober, having some emotional sobriety, and living a decent life.. and the really big one.....feeling inside that I can trust others, Trust God First,and He has shown me how to trust and love others, trust my own self.....and just be GRATEFUL that I sit here today writing out to the best of my ability what I am trying to say what it is I mean to say....smile

Our Sober lives are only granted to us by a Loving GOD, and there is, for me, no need to speculate on how or why  it is, ONLY that IT IS,  today a beautiful Gift, Granted to Us, by a God of my Understanding.

Happy Sunday and Happy Mothers Day to all my Sisters here, that are momies.

Hugs,Tonicakes










-- Edited by Just Toni on Sunday 9th of May 2010 01:23:12 PM

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mikef


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Hey Larry,,let me see my mom was a closet alcoholic,my father a chronic gambler,my Italian uncle Joe used to stomp his own grapes and drinking as a young boy 10-12 was normal for big Italian Sunday dinners,my Uncle Bob definite Imbiber,My Irish grandma used to nip but don't think she crossed over,3 of my 4 children 2 in theirs mid 20's 2 in thei mid 40's use.  One a  hard core IV Heroin abuser(just turned 24)(by grace of God in recovery)and 2 older kids in Texas use socially(??)Seems to be some family history here...For me I was on street early hanging with guys old enough to buy whiskey,and all Ethanol products when I was around 12 so probably not the best grouping of associations.Although many things manifested in me well before I picked up drugs or alcohol,.Nicotine addiction,stealing for my fags,robbing $$$ from ma's pocket book to buy whatever,cheating,mean spirited and SELF-CENTERED!!(they were the not so bad things!!).Addiction just took everything to the ultimate level of devastation.I never did a study but I think ,for me,could be in the genes and also living on the streets??(the environment.).Coming up to 26 years free from all mind altering mood changing substances,thru grace of God(His ummerited favor for me) and some hard work.How I got it ,for me,is not near as important as How I keep it arrested!!I hold no one responsible but myself and learn more about "me" each day by practising spiritual principles in "all" my affairs and letting the God of my understanding guide me..Just for Today,(I can do anything for a 24 hour period like our predecessors said)I remain happy ,joyous and free(some days better than others but all days better than any day drunk or twisted!!smile

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