Dealing with Alcoholism in the Family

MOM, DAD, SON & DAUGHTER –

June 12, 2023 – You have, for example, asked if alcoholism runs in families and by extension if your daughter might have the same or similar medical needs as her father concerning alcohol use disorder.

The answer is a qualified yes, meaning that in some, but not all cases, the condition does run in families.

You have also alluded to the possibility that your daughter has fallen in love with a man, whose personality is similar in some way to the father she presumably adored, and again the answer is a qualified, yes.

It is often said girls marry men who in some ways are like their fathers. You have also asked us to address the almost impossible question to deal with, which is how you tell a girl in love that her choice is, in your view, a mistake.

Indeed, how do you tell her how to fall out of love today, for the sake of her future, and presumably, for the sake of your grandchildren? Do you hear yourself?

Other queries from your seemingly simple question are related to how we choose who we marry. We might as well start with you and the choice to marry her father.