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is addiction really a disease?

Hello. I think it is also a disease, but the difference is just it is intentionally done or taken by people who abuses drugs. Base on the diseases I know, is that they are cause by viruses and other substances that is not good for an individuals health. But something came up on my mind, why do people use drugs when they know that there is a possibility that they will have a disease? Is it because they had a temporary feeling of being "HIGH" so that they will risk their own health?
 
Is addiction really a disease?
Well, if you ask me, no. Not by a long shot. It's an addiction.
Idk, I was raised alot differently than most people from my generation.
 
Heart disease can be caused by smoking. That's an "initial choice" to take something that later causes a disease.

I've seen that argument made for addiction not being a disease because with addiction somebody took something by choice, well there is a definitive disease caused by somebody initially choosing to take something.


And you're right, maybe somebody did initially choose to take a substance. But I don't know anybody that chose to become addicted. The whole point of this is the fact that it no longer becomes a choice, the logical part of the brain capable of deciding to stop is taken over by some form of insanity and physical phenomena of craving.

The fact is that regardless of if it's a disease, I know that If I take a drink or shoot some dope tomorrow I don't know if I'll stop the next day or iff I'll stop 2 years from now - and whenever i do stop i won't be able to do it entirely on me own, regardless of how badly i want to. That is not normal. Most people can just stop if they choose. Alcoholicly minded people are not normal.


Again, I don't know if it's a "disease" or another type of illness - but it's definitely an illness. How is it that I can go to a recovery meeting anywhere in the country and talk to other alcoholics and addicts - and regardless of what substances we used, regardless of our age or our background or what kind of childhood we had on the outside, I can relate to every single one of them about certain key feelings that they felt their whole lives before anything negative had ever happened to them even. Every true addict/alcoholic i have met has all suffered from the same thoughts feelings and fucked up ways of thinking most of their lives and drinking and using became a fucked up solution for these thoughts and feelings. And when I try to talk to normal people about the thoughts and feelings they like at me like I'm crazy.

That's what i know about addiction. I am not normal, my mind is not normal, and if you are really an addict or an alcoholic than neither is yours.
 
IMO with out a doubt. Something I became aware of today.. not something I read or researched but something I have witnessed for a long time became clear.. I dont care about the terminology.. but I kinda always laughed at the dry drunk thing and passed it of as just some deregulation of chemicals that would go away with time.. but something I saw.. and know the whole story on showed me that a person can in fact give up the drugs and clean up for a long period of time but if they do not do what is needed to heal themsefs then they dont heal.. this really blew me away.. and its kinda fucked me up..

so if it isn't a disease and it is a choice, and a person does all the right things, the exercise, nutrition,etc.. but fails to address the effects of the addiction.. but still stays sober for ten years.. and seen after ten years of sobriety they exhibit the unmistakable symptoms of addiction...

then I have to say that this is a disease..

Or whatever it is it does not go away with out treatment.
 
IMO addiction is without a doubt a disease.
Just because something is "self inflicted" it does not mean that it is not a disease.
 
caseface99 said:
Heart disease can be caused by smoking. That's an "initial choice" to take something that later causes a disease.

I've seen that argument made for addiction not being a disease because with addiction somebody took something by choice, well there is a definitive disease caused by somebody initially choosing to take something.


And you're right, maybe somebody did initially choose to take a substance. But I don't know anybody that chose to become addicted. The whole point of this is the fact that it no longer becomes a choice, the logical part of the brain capable of deciding to stop is taken over by some form of insanity and physical phenomena of craving.

The fact is that regardless of if it's a disease, I know that If I take a drink or shoot some dope tomorrow I don't know if I'll stop the next day or iff I'll stop 2 years from now - and whenever i do stop i won't be able to do it entirely on me own, regardless of how badly i want to. That is not normal. Most people can just stop if they choose. Alcoholicly minded people are not normal.


Again, I don't know if it's a "disease" or another type of illness - but it's definitely an illness. How is it that I can go to a recovery meeting anywhere in the country and talk to other alcoholics and addicts - and regardless of what substances we used, regardless of our age or our background or what kind of childhood we had on the outside, I can relate to every single one of them about certain key feelings that they felt their whole lives before anything negative had ever happened to them even. Every true addict/alcoholic i have met has all suffered from the same thoughts feelings and fucked up ways of thinking most of their lives and drinking and using became a fucked up solution for these thoughts and feelings. And when I try to talk to normal people about the thoughts and feelings they like at me like I'm crazy.

That's what i know about addiction. I am not normal, my mind is not normal, and if you are really an addict or an alcoholic than neither is yours.
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^^^^This dude STAYS on point!
 
Interesting title. Was thinking of starting a thread like this myself. Have not read any of it yet but will do later. Just wanted to subscribe to this.
 
I would say yes it's definitely a disease of the brain, just a personal opinion here on what they consider the, "addiction gene", is, I believe many people are born depleted of the chemical dopamine, I truly believe that is what the "addiction gene" is....so not so much a gene, bit a depletion of dopamine....
Because it would mean the people who try substances who are born depleted would definitely get so much more out of a dopamine enhancing drug, like the drugs of abuse provides for us.
Therefore they would feel more off the substances then one born with normal levels, then we chase the inedible because the little that WAS working when we first used, is now completely highjacked, making it progressive so yes ...if this even makes sence to anyone else, I'd say DEFINITELY A DISEASE
 
kendramichelle said:
I would say yes it's definitely a disease of the brain, just a personal opinion here on what they consider the, "addiction gene", is, I believe many people are born depleted of the chemical dopamine, I truly believe that is what the "addiction gene" is....so not so much a gene, bit a depletion of dopamine....
Because it would mean the people who try substances who are born depleted would definitely get so much more out of a dopamine enhancing drug, like the drugs of abuse provides for us.
Therefore they would feel more off the substances then one born with normal levels, then we chase the inedible because the little that WAS working when we first used, is now completely highjacked, making it progressive so yes ...if this even makes sence to anyone else, I'd say DEFINITELY A DISEASE
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Did I make any sense?
 
Imo, no it's not. It's a maladaptive set of coping mechanisms that people develop which causes the chemistry of their brain to change. It's a neurological issue, not a disease. And neuroscience supports that, we know. Addiction isn't even a diagnosis.

It's called substance dependency.

Or substance use disorder.

Addiction isn't in the DSMV, or anything used to diagnose medical conditions.
 
Eligiu said:
Imo, no it's not. It's a maladaptive set of coping mechanisms that people develop which causes the chemistry of their brain to change. It's a neurological issue, not a disease. And neuroscience supports that, we know.
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I love the way you said that so TRUE
 
How addiction effects your brain chemistry certainly is similar to being ill.

But, I personally don't believe that it was ever out of my control. I just didn't care for a really long time. Depression was the disease, drugs just made the time go by.

I kind of think it's something people started saying in regards to alcoholism.
 
laCster said:
i refuse to believe that addiction is a disease, it makes no logical sense to me and psychologytoday agrees with me...

"Widespread enthusiasm for the disease model, however, has led to willingness to overlook the facts. Addiction has very little in common with diseases. It is a group of behaviors, not an illness on its own. It cannot be explained by any disease process. Perhaps worst of all, calling addiction a "disease" interferes with exploring or accepting new understandings of the nature of addiction.

This becomes clear if you compare addiction with true diseases. In addiction there is no infectious agent (as in tuberculosis), no pathological biological process (as in diabetes), and no biologically degenerative condition (as in Alzheimer's disease). The only "disease-like" aspect of addiction is that if people do not deal with it, their lives tend to get worse. That's true of lots of things in life that are not diseases; it doesn't tell us anything about the nature of the problem. (It's worthwhile to remember here that the current version of the disease concept, the "chronic brain disease" neurobiological idea, applies to rats but has been repeatedly shown to be inapplicable to humans. Please see earlier posts in this blog or my book, Breaking Addiction, for a full discussion of the fallacy of this neurobiological disease model for addiction.)"

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-heart-addiction/201112/is-addiction-really-disease


so what do you guys think? please list reasons as to why you do believe, or why you dont believe it is a disease. in treatment centers, i always get into huge arguments with people and the therapists/technicians about this subject. i just think that believing that addiction is a disease is a weak excuse to shift the blame on to other reasons than to take a deep look at the actions that individual took. i think that most treatment centers push the disease model because that gives them a reason to stay in business, if people have a disease then that means they need a hospital and professional help. AA likes the disease concept because it gives people a reason to keep coming back (pun intended) and without that people wouldnt need a primitive 12step program.

also, if it isnt a disease, then what is it?
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At the detox.

Addiction was labeled as a disease, my point of view is that it's a result. Of anything ranging from PTSD, depresssion maybe something else.

But treating it like a disease is more like treating a bandaid as a cure for wounds. The wound is still there, itś not gone. Try to find the roots of your addiction, sure some genentic's will have some population more vulnareable to addiction as will certain growing up social circumstances stimulate it.

I grew up in smoke, surounded by Coked up Boozers (when there was a party). In the 70'80's that was how it was. I am 50 now btw.
 
It seems like addiction is more like an injury, similar to PTSD, then it is a primary disease. Addiction doesn't develop until you are exposed to a substance, and then the substance radically alters your brain. That makes it more like a secondary disease.

There are surely isolated cultures all over the world with people in them who have so-called addiction genes, but they are never exposed to substances so they live normal lives. Kind of like how indigenous people had no addiction until they were introduced to alcohol. Then alcoholism became rampant. Is it fair to say that the indigenous people had a dormant disease prior to colonization? I don't think so.

I would say that, like many secondary diseases, there may be an inborn component but it requires environmental factors to become fully activated.

The problem with the disease model is that it is victimizing rather than enforcing of accountability. It also causes some people to believe that there is no cure. That kind of thinking is why Vancouver is turning into an open-air sewer.
 
shroomster said:
I don't believe anyone can be an addict without actually having a psychological or physical dependancy to the drug. It's, however, irrefutable some are biologically predisposed to addiction.

People will say things like, "I was born an addict". Not so. How can I be addicted to meth if I had never tried it? Some are more prone to addictions, others are more drug or habit specific.

When I was in NA, I was always told I was addicted to everything - that addiction is addiction. I rejected this idea, as it is certainly not true in my personal case. I smoked weed [heavily] for years, but stopped because I was bored of it. I haven't smoked pot, nor do I think about it, in 4 years or so. I drank quite a bit for a while, but stopped because it was just kind of whatever to me. I might have a few beers here and there, but I rarely think about it. I used heroin heavily for a while, but stopped because that drug sucks. After the withdrawals, I didn't experience any psychological attachment to the drug.

Meth, on the other hand...


With that said, I think abusing any mind altering substance while fighting drug addiction is stepping on shaky territory


I remember reading somewhere at some point (maybe it was in rehab) that the brain actually changes once addicted. I'm not familiar enough with pathology to assume this implies addiction is a disease.
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My friend was born addicted to alcohol. My brother and sister were exposed to crack late in pregnancy. They were born that way
 
First, we have a relatively poor understanding of the entire problem, no matter what you want to call it or how your emotions feel about it.

It's a little bit difficult for me to wrap my head around why anyone cares if it is a disease.

People talk about addiction being a choice - and there certainly are elements of choice that can affect someone's current development and progression of addiction. The same thing is true for diabetes (type 2), though. There are also elements of choice that can determine or help determine whether or not diabetes develops and how it progresses.

Whatever happens in a person's brain/body that causes the development of addiction or diabetes is not something people can choose. I can't decide to be an addict any more than I can decide to be a diabetic. In both cases, though, there is risk. If I use drugs in a way (no matter my reasoning) that causes addiction to form or if I eat food in a way that causes me to become diabetic, there are physiological parts of the body and brain that change and become dysfunctional. And it's not possible to undo the dysfunction. Although in both addiction and diabetes, progression can be halted, but not cured.

I personally feel the disease concept makes basic sense, but the word 'addiction' has outlived its usefulness. There is a lot of stigma and confusion attached to it.

If people are sick, hurting, needing help, whatever it is -- however they got there -- they deserve to be treated the same as anyone else.

I think ASAM defines it well.

Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.
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