Many Alcoholics Suffered Childhood Trauma: Study

One of the most glaring observations in open meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous is the frequency that child abuse is mentioned in the shares.

An increased frequency of child abuse is also being observed in women with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Sexual and physical abuse in women with fibromyalgia syndrome.

Professor Markus Heilig, MD Chief and Clinical Director Office of the Chief of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institutes of Health has commented on the following figures from the June print issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research:

................................General population......................Alcohol dependency
Physical abuse:....................8.4% ...........................24% women and 33% for men
Sexual abuse:........................6% ............................49% women 12% for men

5 percent of men and 23 percent of women experienced both types of abuse, physical and sexual, suggesting that co-occurrence of different abuse types may be important as well.

"Because emotional abuse is difficult to define, and is greatly under-reported compared to physical and sexual abuse, true rates of emotional abuse are unknown," Heilig said. "Many recent studies have linked childhood emotional abuse and neglect to the same long-term consequences as physical and sexual abuse, such as increased rates of depression, anxiety and even suicide."

Heilig said the findings "demonstrate that childhood emotional abuse is nearly as prevalent among alcoholic patients as physical and sexual abuse, which is important because it helps to show that emotionally abused children, like those that have been physically or sexually abused, can develop behavioral and other health problems in adulthood."

Many Alcoholics Suffered Childhood Trauma: Study

It seems as though the adage "alcoholism is a disease where you cant see the scars" is true.

well my dad was an alcoholic, though he never really abused me.
sometimes i think back and wonder why he drank so much.
its kinda sad knowing it was probably because he hated his life so much lol

the cycle repeats

Originally posted by TheGrandWarlock
well my dad was an alcoholic, though he never really abused me.
sometimes i think back and wonder why he drank so much.
its kinda sad knowing it was probably because he hates his life so much lol

the cycle repeats

Could be psychological abuse, which isn't physical or sexual. Very hard to pin down, for the person experiencing it, as it can be hard to point out from everything else that is normal.

Gosh, beer doesn't even get you drunk. I can't see how anyone thinks it does. I had a full 12 pack one after the other and I never even a felt buzz. Needless to say, I don't drink beer anymore, waste of time and money.

reply to post by dr treg


Ya that's why I don't drink, I have seen and felt what is down that road and no thank you. I figured this out when I was twelve, abuse seems to cause you to go crazy, or mature double that of your peers.

Originally posted by Manhater
Gosh, beer doesn't even get you drunk. I can't see how anyone thinks it does. I had a full 12 pack one after the other and I never even a felt buzz. Needless to say, I don't drink beer anymore, waste of time and money.

You must be drunk if you think drinking them will get people you talk to drunk while you stay sober.

Sad I guess it is not really anonymous,
@Alcoholics Anonymous anymore.

So to get this info are they watching, recording,
claiming to need help, but are just there for the statistics?
It appears if we have access to this info they are being mislead
in seeking help there.

reply to post by Gmoneycricket


That is not the case . Every AA group has a monthly business meeting , we elect a general service rep who goes to a district meeting a few times a year and surveys are done anonymously no names or locations are given . That is one reason why it's difficult to get a decent success rate for AA because of its anonymity
.

I can attest to your post ! I am an alcoholic and have been sober for 4 years , there has been a considerable amount of trauma in my life . My father died when I was 11 , we moved around the country a lot and I had to change schools and friends numerous times . I wasn't abused physically but I lived with my grandparents often in my childhood and my grandfather was abusive to my grandmother and I saw her beaten up quite a few times when I was around 5 till 10 years old . My grandmother was cross addicted ( alcohol - prescription drugs) I found her dead from suicide . I have heard hundreds of stories from meetings over the years and childhood trauma is a common theme , also children who grew up in military families and I have noticed a large amount of left handed people ( myself included ) in AA