Family History Of Addiction

When it comes to addiction, you have to think about if addiction runs in your family. A lot of the time, you know someone that has struggled with some sort of addiction. Some people will stay away from drugs and alcohol because it’s something they know.  They knew someone close to them that relied on drugs and alcohol so they do whatever they could to not go down that same path. In other cases, addiction is all someone knows.

Existing research showed that annually, 11.8 million people die because of alcohol abuse.

If there is a family history, its best to let your children know. It’s like letting them know the medial history. It’s better to assist them with resources now than when they are the middle of a struggle. You have to let them know that if they feel like they are going down that path of addiction and mental health, you will work with them to get the help they need.

A good time to talk with your child about a family history of addiction is when they enter middle school.

For younger teens, focus on explaining the risk:

• Our family history of addiction means that you are more likely to end up with a problem than other kids who don’t have this in their family.

• We don’t know how our family history affects our genes.

• This is why we don’t want you drinking or using other drugs.

  
  

For older teens, turn your focus to how family history could impact their use:

• Some brains are more hard-wired to have problems with substance use than others, especially in families like ours, where there is a history of addiction.

• You may see friends using substances with seemingly no consequences, while your use could escalate to difficulty stopping or to addiction.

• It takes time to develop addiction. So, while it may seem like you are not different from other kids, addiction has a way of tricking you into think you’re okay, and then it hits you. It’s an especially slippery slope for you because of your genetic make-up. This is why we don’t want you to drink or use other substances.

  
  

If your child is adopted, you might not know their biological background. It’s still worth having conversations about genetic risks and taking precautions against using substances.

It’s important for your kids to understand that there’s no shame to admit that you have a problem. If they feel like they are going down that road, it’s okay to speak up. The earlier you get help, the sooner you can get treatment.

Be honest about your family history. It’s better for your kids to know. It may help to encourage your child to identify what characteristics, qualities, skills and assets they value among your family members. What would they want to continue?

You have to be resilient to be able to look past the struggles of someone and not be able to continue on the same path, but you also have to be able to speak up and talk about the past. You really have to let people in your life understand why you have distanced yourself from them. You have to let them know that their addiction is not the path you want to do down and that if they don’t seek help, you don’t have a choice but to walk away.

Addiction for anyone is scary but knowing that there’s a history in your family you begin to fear that it’s going to be something you will eventually have to face no matter what you do. As long as you know that there is something going on, there are ways you can overcome it and break the cycle.

You have to be cautious around drugs and alcohol. If you have an addicting personality, being able to try something once and not do it again will be a challenge. One time can lead you down a dangerous path. It’s up to you if you want to continue or if you want to stop before it’s too late.

If you have experienced someone go through addiction and you’ve seen them try and get clean on and off for years. It may be a reason to avoid trying anything. You’ve seen them try to live a better life, but they can’t seem to get clean, but there’s always that part of you that because of what you experienced, you have no interest in doing drugs. You’ve seen what it could do. You want to be stronger then that person, you want to prove to that person that you won’t go down that path, you want to show yourself that you can learn from addiction and change the world. You want to bring awareness and hope that you can inspire someone to speak up and get the help they need.

Regarding the impact of family history on an individual’s future risk of devolving into substance abuse, one study discussed substance abuse among medical students and doctors. The results showed that a family history of substance abuse was among the risk factors that made individuals prone to misuse any subtype of substance. Moreover, a study on methadone maintenance therapy and positive parental history concluded that patients with a positive family history had more opioid dependence symptoms that are so severe that they can be classified as severely dependent.

Many factors contribute to a person’s likelihood of developing an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. Scientists have debated whether substance use disorders are born of nature or nurture, or a combination of both. Presently, there is widespread acceptance of the latter, with most research pointing to addiction as the result of genetics and the environment. Consequently, a family history of addiction has proven to be one of the highest risk factors for addiction. 

Sometimes knowing someone with addiction can be a blessing in disguise because it will teach you how to overcome a challenge. You will make a promise to yourself that you won’t live the same life, you won’t ever get to the point in your life where you have to rely on drugs to get through the day. You won’t accept the pressure of addiction because it’s in your family history. It’s in the past. You can be charge of the future. Create a future where there’s not addiction. Live a life where you help someone who is struggling. Even if someone wasn’t able to get the help they needed, honor that person by paying it forward. Use your experience and help those who need help. Don’t let history repeat itself.