It's widely accepted that there are many illnesses that are made more likely by minor genetic variations, and that alcoholism in particular has a genetic component in some cases, although isolating specific genes is difficult so it may still turn out that it's the product of either nurture or some specifically epigenetic changes.
The ind…
It's widely accepted that there are many illnesses that are made more likely by minor genetic variations, and that alcoholism in particular has a genetic component in some cases, although isolating specific genes is difficult so it may still turn out that it's the product of either nurture or some specifically epigenetic changes.
The indigenous Americans and Australians I have spoken to - some of whom are recovering alcoholics and some are well-respected therapists - say that the problems with drugs & alcohol in indigenous communities are to do with cultural stress & inherited trauma which is again thought to be an epigenetic phenomenon. When parents & grand parents were stolen as children & placed in residential schools where they were abused, starved, beaten for speaking their own language and isolated from their parents, it's not surprising that there are problems in many families with parenting style and skills. They are finding that encouraging people to re-learn their culture is a great help, and they are developing successful treatments for both addiction and PTSD that are a good cultural fit with indigenous beliefs.
Some tribes are trying prohibition but this is generally no more successful than it was in the 20's.
In the early days of colonisation, indigenous societies had no cultural patterns available to them to deal with booze, when the settlers had had centuries to develop coping strategies - almost like the European diseases for which indigenous people had no antibodies.
The Chinese, equally, have been exposed to alcohol for centuries - although they did experience serious problems when the British introduced opium for the first time.
It's widely accepted that there are many illnesses that are made more likely by minor genetic variations, and that alcoholism in particular has a genetic component in some cases, although isolating specific genes is difficult so it may still turn out that it's the product of either nurture or some specifically epigenetic changes.
The indigenous Americans and Australians I have spoken to - some of whom are recovering alcoholics and some are well-respected therapists - say that the problems with drugs & alcohol in indigenous communities are to do with cultural stress & inherited trauma which is again thought to be an epigenetic phenomenon. When parents & grand parents were stolen as children & placed in residential schools where they were abused, starved, beaten for speaking their own language and isolated from their parents, it's not surprising that there are problems in many families with parenting style and skills. They are finding that encouraging people to re-learn their culture is a great help, and they are developing successful treatments for both addiction and PTSD that are a good cultural fit with indigenous beliefs.
Some tribes are trying prohibition but this is generally no more successful than it was in the 20's.
In the early days of colonisation, indigenous societies had no cultural patterns available to them to deal with booze, when the settlers had had centuries to develop coping strategies - almost like the European diseases for which indigenous people had no antibodies.
The Chinese, equally, have been exposed to alcohol for centuries - although they did experience serious problems when the British introduced opium for the first time.