Gays and Alcoholism

nope. people can be affected more easily by alcohol than others.

 

Where you having issues iwth your being gay? I know I've been drinking more since deciding to start accepting my sexuality. Only to make me sleep though, but I know that's not good.

 

While I wasn't a full blown alcoholic, I was heading down that path with how my habits were.

 

So maybe your being gay didn't cause it, but your situation made you more susceptible to becoming an alcoholic?

 

Looking back, I started drinking more around the time I became aware of my sexuality. Not sure if one has something do to with the other though.

 

People tend to have a natural propensity to be addicted to alcohol (or anything else), but the stress from being gay could trigger it. I'm never going to drink alcohol (not even the small amounts on rare occassions I'm allowed on occasion). It's not something people should want in their bodies.

 

Yeah, it's pretty common in the transgender community as well. Stress from being closeted/rejection from family. When you factor in dysphoria for the TG community, it's pretty easy to see how addiction and other unsavory coping techniques can develop.

 

Drinking is nice. It kills the pain for a while without the long term side effects of anti-depressants. In moderation, obviously.

 

I've known people of all backgrounds and situations to be affected by alcoholism.

As for it being tied to sexuality, I know of one guy, whose personal sex life I came to know about after college, who was an alcoholic. His dad was an alcoholic of the three martini lunch type. This guy had a major entitlement problem, thinking the world owed him a living for his glibness and good looks. The more he saw that he couldn't bank on them, the more he drank.

I had two adult friends who were somewhere on the bi/gay spectrum who were alcoholics. One was still likable despite it. The other was not. I miss the first person mentioned, because he could be a lot of fun, when he was sober. Good riddance to the second.

 

I've never drank to consciously escape anxiety or whatever (unless you count making socialisation a wee bit easier, but over the years that's been the least of my problems), so I don't get why people on here always seem to jump on escapism as the main reason for drinking.

I'm not saying that alcoholism doesn't exist due to this (of course it does) but I think it's counterproductive to imply that all alcoholism exists to escape some sort of trauma. I think some people, or indeed most of my friends who drink litres and litres in one session, just like too much of a good thing and there doesn't have to be a huge rhyme and reason to it.

 

Funny. I wasn't talking about anyone but myself. It kills the pain of me having to deal with having a biologically female body and a family that wants nothing other than a daughter and all the depression that goes with it.

 

I started drinking alcohol @ 15 partly because I was in the closest partly because everyone else in my class was as well as weed to .caused me to out myself to my step sister bloody stupid thing to do . I was getting drunk wanting to fit in with new gay friends to .

 

Guys

Lets say that I have a "checkered" past regarding gay but when it comes to alcoholism I have a solid history. I joined AA in 1984 and have been sober ever since. I still go to AA meetings about once a week now and still consider myself an alcoholic.

To a large degree - i feel that alcoholism is a disease and I would have ended up an alcoholic regardless of any circumstances in my life. In short - some can handle booze and some cannot. Its that simple.

Regarding Gay and alcoholism - most cities in North America have gay AA meetings.
If someone feels more at ease to check out one of these meetings - then go for it. I am not sure if LGBT have a higher incidence of drinking problems than S8 people

I know the 12 steps have worked great for me and others I have seen over the years. I do not know many that have been successful learning how to control drinking.

 

I don't drink (not old enough yet anyway) but I know the predisposition for alcoholism runs in my family. While I'm gay due to my biology, I'm not sure if the two are related.

 

I'm in no mood to start trawling through psychology and health journals...it's 7am :lol:

But I did find this: http://www.lgbthealth.org.au/alcohol-and-other-drugs which does have links to studies conducted.

I think the additional issues faced by being LGBT increase susceptibility to alcohol and drug abuse, but I don't think it's endemic. Anyone can have stressful situations in their lives which lead them to alcohol/drug abuse.

Myself, I'm 23 and drink less than once a month. Almost unheard of :lol:

 

I'm sure that for me, my drinking habits (I drink no more than a few nights a week) have nothing at all to do with my sexuality. In fact they have been the same for about 4 years straight in which I have had all the stages from not knowing I was gay until being pretty much out.