Now and again, on our podcast, found at sober.coffee, we have guests come on and talk about their journey from alcoholism to recovery.
What strikes us as we write this blog is that though the stories begin to sound similar at the point of break and through sobriety, the genesis is always so different.
According to Soundvision.com, there are over 2 billion mothers in the world. Per The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: around 1 in 10 children (I n America) live with a parent who has an Alcohol Use Disorder - this number includes children from both two-parent and single-parent households. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry puts that number at 1 in 5.
So, that leaves the “majority” of children who don’t grow up in environments directly affected negatively due to alcoholism.
We couldn't find the stat, but we believe every child is exposed to alcoholism at some juncture.: Uncle Billy, the next-door neighbor, a childhood friend, etcetera.
In our world, our unscientific data says that approximately 50% of stories we hear reflect an association with alcoholism in early childhood environments.
In our quest to discover the cause of our alcoholism, we ask the following two questions:
Is alcoholism an environmental pass-on.
“I saw them drink. Therefore, I will” the fact is that we experience or witness alcohol consumption in almost all cases since the time we are born into this world. We have found many theories, but no supportive data could convince us of this gateway. Alcohol use is so accepted societally that it is nearly impossible to avoid. Though this may bring us to experimentation, it doesn't explain the disease that brings us to abuse.
Is alcoholism tendency genetic
We put a little more merit into this presumption. There are too many research points online to mention, so we invite you to research independently. We have seen, however, with our own eyes that near-identical offspring are suffering near-identical consequences to the drink or drug. Is this pattern a mandate for sentencing to alcoholism? Not in our humble opinion, ss we have seen many a child break the cycle of alcohol abuse through abstinence or careful consumption monitoring.
Who cares!
In our cases, and many cases we have witnessed along the way, this topic gets much mind play. The question “Why am I an alcoholic?” tends to get obsessed attention at one point or another in all recoveries. We think that is because A) We want to understand the source so that we don't feed the disease in the future or B) if honest with ourselves, we want to justify why we were cursed with the inability to have one drink.
Either way, it doesn't matter why we are alcoholics; what matters is that we are alcoholics. Period.
We don't mean to come off dismissive, as we are confident there is value in understanding why one has this disease. We have just come to a place where we accepted the findings and watched for science to answer ultimately.
For us is not to question why. - For us is simply to stay dry.
Thoughts and ideas for this blog post were taken and built upon from sober.coffee podcast #102 Animation The podcast dropped on 3/8/2023. Click here to hear the podcast.
Photo by Taneli Lahtinen on Unsplash
BLOG DISCLAIMER:
Alcoholics Anonymous and AA are registered trademarks of Alcoholics World Service. Inc. References to AA, the 12 steps, and 12 traditions does not mean that AA has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication nor that AA agrees with the views expressed herein. This publication is intended to support personal growth and should not be considered a substitute for healthcare professionals' advice. The author’s advice and viewpoints are their own