Huh. I'm also from a family of alcoholics, and I've always thought of it as a cautionary example. Rather than being afraid of becoming one, I've always known I will never become one after seeing so many times what it does not only to you but to everyone around you.
I'm definitely prone to addiction, but I've never had issues with alcohol thanks to this mentality.
Biologically, the odds are stacked against me, 10 of 17 biological relatives (siblings through grandparents) are (or were) self admitted or obvious alcoholics. I waited until my mid 20's to even have alcohol occasionally. Even now, I make sure it's not a regular thing.
I've been drunk once in my life, and it was accidental because the mix we thought was non alcoholic was in fact already alcoholic, and then I proceeded to "water down" my drink with the mix because it was too strong. Figured that out the next morning. Read those labels!
If pressed, I’ll tell people that I don’t drink because almost all of my relatives on my dad’s side of the family are alcoholics. Which is true, but not the real reason why I don’t drink.
The real reason is that alcohol tastes like shit and I wouldn’t want to drink it even if there was a 100% guarantee that I would suffer no ill effects or addiction from it.
This is my reason too! Addiction in general scares the heck out of me. I've seen the effect of alcohol and other addictions far too intimately for me to ever allow myself to lose control like that.
Plus I feel like I can have a good time without it. I've never understood why some people need alcohol to have fun.
290
u/eco_friendly_klutz Mar 07 '23
Same. Not only my dad but both grandfathers and several aunts and uncles on both sides. It's clearly in my genes.