The ‘cause’ of alcoholism has long puzzled doctors, psychiatrists, priests and laymen. A consensus is emerging within the scientific community that part of the answer is genetic. The results of brain studies in the 1990s suggest that for a certain proportion of the population, consumption of alcohol, or another addictive drug, triggers a unique reaction. Unusually high levels of activity in the midbrain produce a craving sensation. The individual then develops a mental obsession with the substance, which requires him to seek more and more of it.

This genetic predisposition seems to apply to about 10 per cent of people. The addiction specialist David Smallwood gives this figure in his book Who Says I’m an Addict, published in 2014. He cites an interesting example to make his case, which makes clear the distinction between physical dependency and addiction. During the war in Vietnam, between one-quarter and one-third of US service personnel used heroin, many becoming physically dependent.

However, when the war finished, around 90 per cent of these discontinued their habit once they had detoxed from the substance and did not use it again once back on American soil. It was the remaining 10 per cent, who continued to use the drug for the rest of the lives, which Smallwood identifies as suffering from the disease of addiction. They had a genetic predisposition that meant that they were vulnerable to becoming drug addicts before the drug was first administered.

This has some potentially disturbing implications for students at the University of Cambridge. Many of us have had little or no exposure to addictive substances before we begin at university. But within hours of being dropped off by Mum and Dad we are exposed to one of the most addictive of them all: alcohol. We are therefore in a position similar to that of the US service personnel in Vietnam. We are exposed to a drug that for some of us will change our lives irrevocably.

My Freshers’ Week began with Pub Golf, in which merely by purchasing the ticket I was entitled to one pint of Guinness, two Jägerbombs, and discounts on my first three vodka mixers. I enjoyed myself tremendously but ended up drinking more than intended. The following night I tried to limit myself to three drinks but proved unable to do so. This happened the following night. And the night after that, and the night after that.

Very soon I was incapable of drinking moderately. My first two years at Cambridge were characterised by different attempts to control my consumption of alcohol. I tried implementing a weekly quota; only drinking after 7pm; and only drinking socially. These resolutions worked for a time but eventually I broke all one of them. In my second year, alcohol was a fixture in my daily routine. After a day in the library I had to have three cans of Strongbow in the evening to unwind.

The obvious answer was to quit drinking entirely. This I vowed to do at the beginning of my third year. I also began to see a private counsellor, to whom my college referred me. He told me to abstain from alcohol completely until such a point as we discovered the ‘root cause’ of my drinking. His theory was that there must have been some traumatic event in my childhood, the memory of which compelled me to drink so heavily.

What neither of us realised was that I was by this stage incapable of staying away from alcohol on my own willpower for any significant period of time. For the first few weeks of term I managed to abstain on weekdays, only to drink myself unconscious on weekends. By November I could not manage even this. I would resolve freshly each Monday to stay sober for the week, only to end up drunk by Tuesday or Wednesday night.

It was clear to friends and tutors that I was in grave physical danger. Mercifully, my college allowed me to intermit my studies and sent me to a detox centre in London. It was at this point that I was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

I began attending AA meetings while inside the detox centre and continued to do so after I was discharged. I was introduced to alcoholics who had recovered from their condition and who had not had a drink or drug in many years. I told them about my drinking pattern and how I had arrived at AA. They told me that I was definitely an alcoholic, based on the symptoms I described. They then told me that if I continued attending AA meetings and followed the programme of recovery known as the ‘Twelve Steps’, I would never need to drink again. Like them, I could stay sober indefinitely.

I spent the remainder of that academic year doing what was suggested. I went to AA meetings in London and began working the ‘Twelve Steps’, as they are set out in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, published in 1939, from which the organisation takes its name. My mental obsession with alcohol was quickly alleviated, so that I could be around it (for instance in bars and pubs) and yet have no urge to consume it.

I have not had a drink since intermitting from Cambridge in November 2014. Provided I continue to go to meetings and to work on the ‘Twelve Steps’, there is no reason why I will not be able to stay sober for the rest of my life.

The format of AA meetings varies. Sometimes a sober member of the organisation will tell his or her story. Sometimes there is a general discussion. Why these meetings have such a powerful effect is something of a mystery. Part of the answer is that they enable identification. The alcoholic newcomer is able to hear stories which resemble his or her own. This makes it easy for the individual to relate to the other members of the group. It is often said that no one can relate to an alcoholic as can another alcoholic. This is surely the basis of AA’s success.

21 AA meetings take place each week in Cambridge. Anyone who thinks they may have a problem with alcohol can simply turn up at one of these.

On Friday night there is a meeting specifically for young people. Several undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of Cambridge attend this. If you are considering AA but would like to meet other students in the organisation first, this is the meeting to attend. It takes place in the Friends’ Meeting House, 12 Jesus Lane and starts at 7.15pm. Details of other meetings can be found on the AA website.

The author of this article has asked to remain anonymous. However, they are happy to answer queries. If you have any questions about the content of this article, or about anything else to do with alcoholism or AA, please email cambridgeaaqueries@gmail.com