is addiction purely genetic?

Question

I am a trainee psychotherapist, but my best mate is an addict. He claims ALL addicts are addicts as a result of genetics. Whilst i agree addiction can in some cases be genetic i do not believe this is ALWAYS the case. I do think it can be an excuse...but i am open to debate. Thanks for the opinions too.

Answer 1

not at all none of my family have the problems i do

Answer 2

I am going to give you an opinion. I Have several family members that are or have been addicted to mostly alcohol and drugs. I feel honestly that i have an addictive personality. Meaning that given certain situations I could see myself becoming addicted to several different things. Most of these things are not always destructive, but my behavior makes me question whether or not its a genetic disposition or a lack of willpower.
The best thing to do without being drawnout in the subject is question your own family. Being very subtle with the subject though. I know my answer may seem a little vague but sometimes the best answers are right in front of you.

Answer 3

I don't think very much behaviour is PURELY genetic. We are all born with some genetic predispositions (e.g. to anxiety, to cancer, etc) but whether any of those things actually take hold in US is down to our environment/experience etc. In the case of addiction, I am pretty certain (from all my experience as psychotherapist) that a failure in the child's family environment is the underlying trigger. For example, a lack of empathy to the infant's real feelings develops over time to a sense of emptiness, a void inside. Later in life, the individual with a predisposition to addiction will deal with that emptiness by using the substance or behaviour they have discovered numbs the pain.

Answer 4

In a lot of cases yes but I also believe people can drink or use their way into addiction. Addiction is a mental illness. Genetics are not an excuse and i hope you will be open minded and compassionate when dealing with people with addiction problems when you become a psychologist.

Answer 5

Personally, I don't think so.
My mum and both her sisters are seriously addicted to smoking. All 3 tried giving up over and over and over, and failed every single time. Their mother was a lifelong smoker too and never even tried to give up. They believe that they have an addictive personality.
If it was genetic, then that would have been passed to me. However, I smoked from the age of 13 to 21. At 21, one day I just decided I'd had enough and stopped. Instantly. Never had a craving, or been tempted to go back. I was on over 20 a day at that point, and believe that if I'd been seriously addicted I would at least have had some kind of reaction to quitting. I also really like chocolate, but can quit eating it for months if I feel like it.
I think it is mainly psychological. People begin to rely on certain things (cigarettes, drugs, alcohol) partly because of a reaction it creates in their body, but partly because we are generally creatures of habit, and pick up those habits very easily. But if you get your head in the right place, and really want to get out of an addiction, I believe you can. I certainly don't believe that just because a parent etc was addicted to anything, then you will be too.

Answer 6

It is a well demonstrated fact that some people have a predisposition to addiciton. Native Americans have a well known intolerance to alchohol, resulting in high levels of alchoholism.

However, like most other behavioural things, addiciton is not just a matter of our bodies. There are lots of behavioural and social issues that also come into play. These include

People whose main social circle involves the use of a particular drug, will have more trouble quitting (try quitting smoking if your all your friends smoke!)

People with high levels of anxiety and stress will have a lot of trouble recovering for addiction.

People in a very supportive environment are less likely to become addicted.

and so it goes.

Modern genetics is often claiming to have found the gene for such and such, but often that gene only has a small relationship, and there are many other factors as well.

Answer 7

Not purely genetic but it can be passed on by the mother if she is using drugs while pregnant. My experience - and study - of addiction leaves me to conclude that it is a contractable disease that is mental, physical, and spiritual.

Contracting the disease is through a steady habit of using any kind of "drug" to avoid dealing with life. I used to party like most people do, but, at some point, I no longer had a choice to use or not. I felt that I really needed my drugs. That was when I crossed a point of no return. That was when I became an addict.

Much can be said, and accurately so, that social conditioning helps one become an addict too. It's a very complex thing to understand, much less agree with. Believe me, I was one of those who thought that all I had to do was just stop. But for myself, and evidenced by the testimony of millions of other addicts, it isn't that simple.

Answer 8

No I do not think so. I think that many people may have a gene that predisposes them to addiction but have learned how to control thier impulses and dont allow addiction to occur. And some with out any gene to predispose have no control and become addicted .
This is not to say some can stop an addiction but simply that they dont allow the addiction to get started by staying away from addictive substances and/or only allowing themselves a reasonable (like with alcohol) amount and only on special occasions.

Answer 9

Addiction is genetic in part, but there are also other factors: environment, race, socioeconomic class, abuse history, etc. All of those things can contribute to a person's addiction status but there are children who with a family history of addiction, though, who do not grow up to be alcoholics/addicts. There are those who are adopted, though, by parents who do not drink, are middle class, do not abuse them, etc., but who have an addiction history from their biological family who end up chronic alcoholics. Lots of things contribute, though genetic predispositions to the disease of addiction is the most prominent.

Answer 10

take a look at the people around u, most people i know have an addiction even if it is to a small degree, like shopping, bingo, smoking, a bet on the horses, eating chocolate, religion, computer games etc maybe its built into us but some of us know how to control it and other people dont

Answer 11

Addicts would like to claim so , that's a cop out and an excuse to go on taking drugs
What does it matter , they should be told whatever the cause is its Their problem.
And don't you get dragged into a game of Mutual dependence