• Question: Can addictions and mental health problems related to drugs be passed down families?

    Asked by jorrito98 to Jack, Jon, Tom, Yalda on 18 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Tom Branson

      Tom Branson answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      Drug problems are not hereditary. However, there are links between genetics and the potential for someone to become addicted. But each individual person is not just born an addict, they have to get into the drug themselves and many things can change this – who they are friends with, what they do in their spare time, they dont have to be an addict at all.

    • Photo: Yalda Javadi

      Yalda Javadi answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      There is a gene that is linked to whether you have a tendancy to form addictions, which include drug addictions. But tendancy to form and will form are very different things…your environmental factor will play a role too. For example, where you live, what you have access to and who your friends are.

      Likewise there are certain genes that have been linked to mental health problems like depression and anxiety for example. And it’s been debated that if someone in your family has mental health problems then you have a greater chance of developing the condition at some point in your life. But again it comes down to nature versus nurture, in other words, your surroundings, your attitude and how you deal with problems will have a huge impact. And some of these are things that we can change in ourselves quite easily.

    • Photo: Jack Heal

      Jack Heal answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      Causes of mental illnesses and addiction are complicated. Genetics play a part – so some people are more likely to become addicted to things than others right from the start – but so do things like your surroundings, how you’re brought up, your friends, any other diseases you might have…the list is long! That’s what makes it complicated.
      As Yalda and Tom both said: we can have control over lots of these things!

    • Photo: Jon Marles-Wright

      Jon Marles-Wright answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      You can’t inherit drug problems, but your genes are thought to play a role in whether you are likely to become addicted and if you might develop mental health problems. The links between your genes, your life, and the people around you, are very complicated and we are only really beginning to figure out the role of your genes.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 20 Mar 2013:

      Recent research suggest that there are actually differences between the brains of drug addicts vs non-addicts – but we don’t know yet if these can be passed down. Russell Brand had some quite heavy drug addictions & now campaigns to get addiction seen as an illness rather than something someone chooses. You can see him talking about it here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wq21g and he has some very good arguments (as well as funny hair).

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