Today is July seventh, or 7/11 or 11/7, depending on how you write the date. For a lot of people, seven and eleven are lucky numbers. Remember a decade ago, when there were a slew of couples who got married on July 7, 2007 (7/7/7)? They seemed to believe in the luckiness or unluckiness of certain numbers.

Luck, believe it or not, also plays a part in drug and alcohol abuse. Some fortunate people are lucky and don’t develop addictions. Others don’t have this type of luck.

These unlucky people may have a genetic predisposition to abuse drugs and alcohol. Researchers believe that genetics may contribute to a higher disposition towards alcohol abuse. Observations seem to confirm this. We all seem to know at least one family with more than one drinker, families where one generation after the next seems to struggle with alcohol abuse and its effects.

Of course, it might be more than nature. It might be nurture. People with many alcoholic family members may be fighting more than just genetics. They might be fighting their environments. They might witness the alcohol abuse in their families and might feel as if such behavior is normal. Children growing up in such environments might not know of any other way of life.

While our biological families are a matter of luck, they don’t have to be the most important determining factors in our lives. Healthy, mentally sound adults have choices.

This isn’t to say that addiction is a matter of choice, however. It’s just to say that if we’re unlucky enough to struggle with addiction, we can probably see what these addictions are doing to us. We have choices about how to deal with this substance use disorder.

The choices are plentiful. They can involve inpatient or outpatient care, 12-step programs, therapy, or other options. They illustrate that if people are strong enough to ask for help, they can create their own good luck.