My father was an alcoholic (or so I'm told, having only met him a handful of times). I don't believe that alcoholism can be passed down from generation to generation, nor do I believe in any genetic predisposition to it. Everyone makes their own choices. One normally doesn't have a problem with alcoholism until the consumption and craving of alcohol begins to negatively affect the people and things that are important to them.
I personally don't have a notable drinking pattern at the moment. Looking back, I used to be an alcoholic. I would drink before school, before work, basically at every opportunity. My problem was not being able to stop. I would start drinking at a party and end up sh*t-faced in the backyard the next morning. I could not drink socially. If I drank one drink, I may as well have drank a hundred. It was sad that it had to be an all-or-nothing sort of ideology behind my drinking habits.
I went through the 12 step programs and the buddy systems and the YMCA clubs. All of these places are bullsh*t unless you actually WANT to stop drinking. For me, it came to a point where I HAD to stop drinking. I had a wife and a son to think about, so I manned up and became a sober individual. With my wife and son gone, and going through a hellacious divorce, the temptation has been ever present.
Right now, I drink most nights of the week. Either a bottle of red wine or vodka mixed with juices. I consider drinking daily to be a problem, but my current personal situation is not the best, and I am not in the best frame of mind. I may have a problem with alcohol at this specific point and time, but overall I believe that I can cope with it.
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