People always mention how addictive personalities are "genetic." They'll say something along the line of "my family has a history with addiction."
I am inclined to think this is an accuse for addictions.
People always mention how addictive personalities are "genetic." They'll say something along the line of "my family has a history with addiction."
I am inclined to think this is an accuse for addictions.
A legit excuse
Reason, not an excuse. It explains but does not excuse the behavior
It's definitely a real thing.
However, everyone's responsible for themselves. Someone with an addictive personality will have to acknowledge that and work harder than other people to stay out of all the addiction traps (drugs, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, etc. etc.) that society dangles in front of them.
We all have things that we have to work harder at than others.
Is there a genetic link between some personality traits? Of course. Like any other genetic link, there's not 100% correlation.
I would consider myself to have an "addictive" personality. I don't really see the same trait in my parents, but in some my my aunts/uncles (and one of my sisters).
I don't necessarily think an "addictive" personality is a bad thing. I don't have any addictions that I consider to be detrimental (I don't smoke, drink, watch TV, play video games, etc.. because I know that I will get too involved). The important thing for me is to apply it to my advantage. For example, I never would have been as successful in athletics or as a student without an "addictive" personality.
It's real but mostly a scapegoat. It's easier for people to blame a disorder than themselves. Most people that say they have it don't. Same thing as depression, autism, adhd,etc... Just an excuse to avoid taking personal responsibility.
You Are What You Is wrote:
It's definitely a real thing.
However, everyone's responsible for themselves. Someone with an addictive personality will have to acknowledge that and work harder than other people to stay out of all the addiction traps (drugs, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, etc. etc.) that society dangles in front of them.
We all have things that we have to work harder at than others.
Exactly. It's not an excuse. It's something to know about yourself so that you can plan your behavior accordingly.
I think this is what people don't understand about AA's "you are not in control" mantra. The idea is NOT to say that it's okay for you to be a drunk because it's not your fault. The point is to remind you that you can't drink at all because you can't control it (i.e. you're never going to be able to reliably "just have one tonight").
Knowing that you have an addictive personality is necessary to to excuse your addictions, but to avoid getting addicted in the first place.
I personally have an addictive personality, I would never use it as an excuse for anything. I just have to live my life cautiously to avoid addiction and hurting the people around me.
Dopamine transmission function varies from person to person and is moderately heritable. I don't know if that's an excuse in your mind or not, but it is a fact.
Am I living in the twilight zone? The Boston Marathon weather was terrible!
Is there a rule against attaching a helium balloon to yourself while running a road race?
How rare is it to run a sub 5 minute mile AND bench press 225?
Move over Mark Coogan, Rojo and John Kellogg share their 3 favorite mile workouts
Mark Coogan says that if you could only do 3 workouts as a 1500m runner you should do these
Matt Choi was drinking beer halfway through the Boston Marathon