ADDICTS ONLY: Is YOUR addiction a disease?

[ink907]

lol, plutoniumboss: tell that to my friends who've destroyed their lives because of their addiction...

the drugs make you feel good, but that "honeymoon" period is fairly short lived if you have an addiction.

 

[iamonit]

ha ha

don't even get me started
http://www.transitionsrecovery.com

that was a great morning read, one that I assure you produced more laughs than anything else...

If you scroll down and read about dual-diagnosis... that is what they did to me in the first place I went to..

I was on ptozac and had post-partum depression... over a course of 2 or 3 months and 3 seperate appointments I told that doc I was suicidal and he blew it off... I ended up having to stop the Prozac on my own and check into one of those places... after my hubby found me unresponsive in the fetal position after trying to overdose on tramadol....

which is why I guess they put me as a dual-diagnosis... in this place I was put on so many meds that fucked me up and in a bad way... and like I said by the time I left and the state I was in... I was way worse than when I came in depression suicidal wise... probably because they had me convinced I was an addict and that it was a disease I would never be able to be rid of.

I was looking at long term pain and no quality of life... they screwed my brains real good... a good 1 and half years later here I am now though... wanna know what has me all better... more of finding the joy in life again... That I can look at my 2 year old anytime of the day and even when she is being the monster from hell.... I can smile to myself with such joy of her exsistense... and watching my 4 year old turn 5 this year...

WEll I could go on... I think it is really all about finding what you love... for most... they love their addiction... but how is your quality of life?

I do have diseases a lot of them... and trust me for some I inherited from my family members... and some come along with some of the others... I promise there is nothing in the world that I would love more than to be rid of these diseases... none of my diseases produce any nice affects.. escept that I get to legally be physically dependant on high potent pain killers... but you know what to that too... sometimes those things can really get in the way... even if they are working on the pain...

I'm not going to say anymore as I'm not and addict and probably shouldn't have posted here in the first place... last night I was very very... something.

p.s. sorry my thoughts are too choppy and my brain types faster than my hands...

 

[iamonit]

lol, plutoniumboss: tell that to my friends who've destroyed their lives because of their addiction...

the drugs make you feel good, but that "honeymoon" period is fairly short lived if you have an addiction.

My honeymoon was hell too!! I had diarrhea the whole time and the cramps were happening all through my wedding... it was such a wonderful memory!!

 

[porcelina]

I am psychologically addicted to weed. I'm a bitch if I don't get my daily bongrips. I actually fiend for weed, because without it, I feel like my anxiety will be uncontrollable. When I went on vacation for a week without weed recently, I had at least one panic attack a day. I don't feel like the addiction itself is a disease, but a symptom of my real mental illness, anxiety and depression, that I use to self medicate since no doctor has ever given me anything to feel better.
It's funny, because I thought for SURE that I would get addicted to the Vicodin I was given for legit pain a few months ago. Yeah, it felt great getting a buzz everyday, me and my best friend had popped an oxy once or twice before for fun. When I ran out, I got one refill because the pain was still bad. I was like FUCK YEAH at getting more pills. But when those were done, so was I. I thought well that was a fun ride...but I didn't even think about getting more pills.
So no, to me, addiction is not a disease, but a symptom of a larger problem that needs worked on. However, you can actually DIE from alcohol withdrawals, so I can't speak for addiction to other substances.

 

[iamonit]

Oh I had a moment of inspiration...

addiction can be treated right? and cured too.
so can a disease... but so can a cold...

I think the real answer to this question is in the question itself...

what is your opinion as per being an addict yourself... disease or no

So it depends on the person whether it is a disease or no...

Could it possible be a chronic problem

A bad decision leading up

For some a prescription is what started it...

And yes there are diseases that can manifest from outside manipulation

It would depend on what you yourself think the definition of disease is.

 

[jscript]

yes!

i believe my addictive personality is caused (in part) by things out of my control such as my upbringing and genetics, although my addiction to drugs is no doubt caused by me and my choice to have experimented with them.

addiction to drugs is still a disease, the only difference is that it is a disease i have given myself. if i had not experimented with drugs at all i would not have the problem. it is NOT something i was born with.

im starting to not make sense, but essentially what im saying is no matter how genetically predisposed i am to addiction of any kind, if i didnt gamble, take drugs, have sex, or do anything that has a possibility of addiction then there is no way i would become addicted to it. looking at it like that, i suppose i could just not do anything at all since i could become addicted to doing just about anything. could i then not become addicted to doing nothing? wow. im starting to spin myself out. would you call compulsion addiction? as in, is somebody who is obsessive compulsive also addicted to that behaviour?

hang on, you only wanted to know if it was a disease to me?

yes and no! (didnt i say yes before?!). generally diseases cause distress and discomfort, i wouldnt say my addiction only causes that as it is also enjoyable being a dirty piece of junkie scum. the jury is still out for now...

im half asleep right now so if this made little sense i apologise. actually no i dont you can all get fucked goodnight!

 

[phr]

Rachamim makes a great point(and post). You have to use, for a period of time, to become addicted. I want to make it clear that when I say addiction, I do not necessarily mean dependence. They are both correlated, but causation is not necessarily implied.


Personally I think it is a combination of behavior/personality and genetics. I don't care too much for calling it a disease, but I'm not denying it. Addiction, to anything is an affliction imo.

And I don't believe the statement, "once an addict, always an addict."

 

[motts]

Addiction is based among many factors. But I do not think it is made upon the actions/choices we make because I think as addicts our brains sometimes sway or the feelings we love so much sway us into thinking or doing something we would normally not.

It is a brain disease. But as phrozen said I do think you cannot stop using if you truly want. I don't think it is a life long deal unless you make it one, it is only a disease for the time you are trapped. My two cents.

Edit : Added more to the topic

 

[Adrenochrome]

Adrenochrome: Tell that to the Mu2 subset of receptors. Euphoria is quantifiedphysically so that sort of reasoning is a bit nonsensical. It DOESdepend on subjective reasning, perception, but is also a physical maifestation (sphincter, abdominal, tailflick/twitch,etc).
Addiction also holds to the virus pattern on a mental level so that it qualifies as both a physical and mental disease.

True true, but all receptors have not been characterized (admittedly: the enkephalin ligand receptors have been extensively studied).

What I was trying to convey was that the prefix "eu" (i.e., 'eu'phoria) means true and there's no truth that comes from abusing these ligand receptors, (albeit, falsehoods may be commonely mustered by such abuse); at any rate there is truth that comes from knowledge and opiates are not conducive to learning

At any rate stay in school my friends

 

[chicpoena]

Hmmm... this is a hard one. I definitely DON'T believe that my addiction is a disease in the same way diabetes, cancer or AIDS is. At the same time, I often wonder why some of us become addicted while others do not. Case and point: my boyfriend used opiates just as much as I did, but only I got addicted. He can control his use but I cannot.

Is it weakness? I'm not sure. I have struggled with depression/anxiety my whole life and opiates are the only drugs that have ever been able to take that away and allow me to feel at peace. In that sense, being an opiate addict has enhanced my life.

I believe that it is the stigma of taking something everyday to feel "normal" that makes people question whether it is right or wrong to be addicted to something. I also believe that criminalization of drugs is the main cause for many of the ills associated with addiction. The high cost of drugs leads to theft and robbery, the refusal to have a public discourse about how to use drugs wisely means many drug users have NO IDEA how much to use, what not to combine with, how to properly shoot up etc.

I truly believe that people like me were born opiate addicts. My suboxone doctor confimed my belief: every single person he has ever treated said they became addicted to opiates because it was the only thing that ever made them feel normal. My usual dose of opiates NEVER got me high, it just made me feel normal. I'm not even that into the high. Since my grandfather was a morphine addict, and almost everyone in my family is an alcoholic, I do believe that there is a genetic predisposition.

The real question for us addicts should be, do you feel like your addiction improves your life?

Since I am legally prescribed an opiate, and I can afford the doctors visits etc., for me my addiction is as simple as taking a pill everyday to make me feel normal. And not normal in the sense that I'm sober... because I'm not. Normal in the way that only opiates have been able to make me feel. I certainly don't feel bad about it either.

 

[junctionalfunkie]

No.

Ten years ago, I was late for work and I took a shortcut through a 'bad' part of town (lower W. Gray in Houston). At a stop sign, my car was swarmed by 10-year-old crack dealers.
Within 3 months, I was heavily addicted to crack, heroin, and (especially) IV cocaine. The next few years were pretty nuts. I was one scary son of a bitch for a while.

Point is, I honestly believe the past decade would most likely have been a lot different if I'd never taken that shortcut.

My addictions are wholly the results of choices I've made, and I take full responsibility for them. They are not the result of a "disease."

 

[biggerstronger]

Partially...I feel I have a predisposition to drug abuse, but whether that is genetic or environment is hard to say. I grew up around drugs and I have had my family members: parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. addicted to drugs or alcohol at some point in their lives. Drug abuse can be compared to certain cases of cancer, certain cases of diabetes, and other diseases because no one sets out to become an addict. People's brains and bodies are predisposed to certain conditions such as cancer or diabetes the same is true for addiction in my opinion. Environment and genetics both play huge roles in many diseases such as cancer and some cases of diabetes. Aids, HIV, many acquired diseases etc. all depend on environment so why is addiction any different?

 

[bulldog8b]

I am a former addict to alcohol and to amphetamines. My addiction was not a disease in the same sense that diabetes or even schizophrenia is a disease, but rather an interaction of my personal faults, weaknesses, and proclivities with a greater social context, leading to a series of decisions in which I have free will, although exercising it in the "healthy" way is, for reasons relating to all of these dimensions, at times, very difficult.

Agreed, mine is not a disease in that it is something that I caught or got by no fault of my own. However, I have seen other people do H IV for months or even years and then detox and be done, never go back or even want to. That I don't get. Like I said, it isn't a disease in that it is something that I just got, it took me messing around. But, I think it is is a disease or maybe more like a condition, because once I start, I can't stop. I have almost no control and basically no will power when my DOC is available. Compared to those others I mentioned, we are definitely different because they can watch somebody fix and not care, but I go nuts just hearing people talk about it. I think it is more a condition, because with out my poor decisions that potentiated my condition, it wouldn't have happened, if that makes sense to anybody.

 

[Adrenochrome]

Does anyone here think THEIR addiction is the result of a SINGLE gene?

 

[PrettyLittleDitty]

Adreno - you piss me off. Don't preach what euphoria is and what isn't; everything in this world is subjective. 'Eu', meaning true, does not help your argument at all. How these feelings were acheived is not of concern! To someone with extreme anxiety, taking a benzodiazepine for the first time might seem like euphoria - it did for me. For someone who doesn't, it might just be sedating, nowhere near euphoria. So quit your ego-babble bullshit, and stop dicksizing.

 

[Khadijah]

However, I have seen other people do H IV for months or even years and then detox and be done, never go back or even want to. That I don't get. Like I said, it isn't a disease in that it is something that I just got, it took me messing around. But, I think it is is a disease or maybe more like a condition, because once I start, I can't stop. I have almost no control and basically no will power when my DOC is available. Compared to those others I mentioned, we are definitely different because they can watch somebody fix and not care, but I go nuts just hearing people talk about it.

Well what about people who have experienced both types of drug addiction, the kind where you go thru it and cant stop, AND the kind who CAN stop. I been both. I been your friend who can just quit and detox and stay off, and the one who cant stop. There has been times where I felt like i couldnt stop using and had no choice, just got gravitated toweards it like a magnet, impossible to turn away, watchin myself make the move like its a movie, knowin what its gonna do, and not bein able to turn it off its course. But i also , thru willpower, been known to be extremely disciplnied. I think it is how much internal strenth you have at that point in your life. I honestly do not believe that any form of bein addicted to any drug I ever been thru was/is a disease. more like whether or not i been able to tap into my inner reserve of crazy steel willpower and use it or not.

 

[garuda]

No I don't view it as a disease, a behavioral disorder yea, extreme warping of priorities yea.

But I've never experienced desperation I see some deal with, I always pull back when I notice my use escalating. You could call the alteration of brain chemistry and receptors in extreme use a disease, but its clearly not the main driving factor in continued use.
I guess the fact is I have never felt out of control, I have had chances but I never take them. Maybe my thoughts would be different if I was willing to IV street H for example I don't know.

To give you some background I believe all drugs and paraphernalia should be legal, and that the government has no business regulating or prohibiting substances.

 

[malfunkshun]

Maybe this bit of information will help you guys stop spending so much cash on drugs and get back into school: the feelings produced by opiates are not eueuphoria they are pseudoeuphoria

true euphoria comes from studying the world (i prefer the study of living systems on as small of a scale as u can get, integrable to the largest system)

lol... pseudoeuphoria. thats a good one.

anyway, i don't believe that DRUG addiction is a disease, the way i define 'disease'. to me, a disease is an illness that is caused by something which is not in your own control. addiction is obviously within anyone's control, even if you have a proclivity towards it.

to put it simply - DRUG addiction is a matter of a persons willpower. a person has control over their own will. a person has control on whether or not they decide to try that drug for the first time and become addicted to it.

a disease is a sickness or ailment which is out of a persons control, which afflicts them whether or not they want it to. a person has no control over whether or not they will get cancer. sure, they can control the likelihood to a certain degree, but thats it. they can still get it no matter what precautions they take.

i do believe that i am genetically more likely to develop an addiction. and i am an addict. however, there was a point in time when i wasn't an addict. if i had never taken a drink or popped a pain pill, i would not be an addict right now (to drugs anyway). those were choices i made, and i was aware of the dangers of addiction.

addiction isn't restricted to DRUGS. some people can supposedly be addicted to food (or exercise, or work, or video games). with food it might get a little dicey, on whether or not we can call it a disease, since food is obviously required for all people and we don't have a choice in the matter to NOT eat, unless we want to starve to death. but, we do have a choice on how much food we put into our bodies. so, i still think that food addiction is NOT a disease... as far as my definition goes, which is, as i said, an ailment or sickness which occurs to a person which is completely out of their control - that is, they have no choice in the matter.

as for exercise, work, video games, etc... these are obviously choices, so these are not diseases either. and if we do call ALL addiction a disease, they is working a lot a disease, for people who are supposedly addicted to work? or exercise? these 'addictions' can be beneficial to the person. should they be considered sicknesses or ailments?

not all addiction is bad, so giving addiction a blanket definition as a disease is, IMO, retarded. and it also takes the responsibility out of the hands of the person who is addicted, which to me is fucked up. oh yeah, i think that 12 step system is retarded to.

 

[Institutionalizer]

Lacey: ehh.. you did repeat yourself in your first post, but obviously that still wasn't enough for some. geez.

nyway.
I have thought quite some time about my own relationship with the drugs ive been addicted to. And for years i would have answered "disease is just a word, doesnt matter. what matters is the fucked up behavior that might come with the use. and No, my addiction is probably not a disease. but if it is, its still just a word".

Today though, ive seen and felt so many strange effects that im willing to admit that the use ive gone through (mainly alcohol in this case), have developed symptoms that is a bit too close to the ones that could be caused by some forms of sickness, allergy, whatever. Sometimes physical, but mainly mental.
Im not saying the ACT of using is a sickness (although it might be a sick action), but what happens WHEN you have acted might be a sickness/disease, with symptoms that fuels the ACT which fuels the sickness..

Still, i guess it boils down to this:

There has been times where I felt like i couldnt stop using and had no choice, just got gravitated toweards it like a magnet, impossible to turn away, watchin myself make the move like its a movie, knowin what its gonna do, and not bein able to turn it off its course. But i also , thru willpower, been known to be extremely disciplnied. I think it is how much internal strenth you have at that point in your life.

I can totaly relate to the above. In times i have a willpower that fascinates and scares even myself. And Allah knows ive put up my fair share of fight with some categorizing NA fucks. And am still prepared to.

But when it comes to having downed half a bottle of wine or 2-3 beers, its 50/50: i can be all cool about it (from factors im slowly figuring out a pattern of, which is good), or be prepared to sell my soul for another drink (and so on and so on better placed in another thread).

Its so scary and makes you think what in the fuck is it that has been growing in the brain for all these years. Cause it hasn't always been like this.

I can remember the first moments of drunkenness at age 13-14. I still have photographic memories of the places where i felt completely at home, strong and secure while drunk. But when it ended, i was cool with that. Today though, the "chemical reactions" are so much darker.

Im never gonna cop-out and use the "disease" word not to have to face responsibility. But im prepared to admit that some drugs, in some brains, might be able to cause disease-like or allergic-like reactions.

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

IMO, addiction is definitely not a disease, it's a lifestyle choice.

*waits for onslaught